History of Providence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The city of Providence, Rhode Island has a long (by North American standards) and nationally significant history, including the first bloodshed of the American Revolution, economic shifts from trading to manufacturing, the decline of which contemporaneous to the Great Depression devastated the city, and eventual economic recovery through investment of public funds.
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[edit] Founding
The area was first settled in 1636 by Roger Williams, and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies. Having been expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious views, Williams sought to resettle elsewhere and secured a title to the land from the local Narragansett natives around this time. Here he gave the city its present name, in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed had aided him in finding the location. Williams cultivated Providence as a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as he himself had been exiled from Massachusetts. Shortly after being settled, much of Providence was burned down in King Philip's War, which lasted from 1675 to 1676.
Providence's growth was slow during the next quarter-century. The first census of the colony, taken in 1708, recorded 1,446 residents. However, in the second census taken in 1730, the colony's population had almost tripled to 3,916 people. The Providence territory would become smaller as more and more of the land would become part of different towns, including Scituate and Johnston. The city's slow growth was also due to the rocky, hilly, and heavily wooded land which made farming difficult, as well as the tradition of dissent and independent-mindedness (Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to declare independence from Great Britain). Residents often fought over land titles, politics, and religion.
[edit] Revolutionary Times to Manufacturing
In the mid-1770s, Providence was focused on fishing and maritime trade, and was becoming a major commercial center. Nevertheless, the British government's passage of several laws levying various taxes caused Providence to join the other colonies in renouncing allegiance to the British Crown. One such law was the Sugar Act, which levied a tax on sugar and molasses imports, and impacted Providence's distilleries and its trade in rum and slaves. In response to enforcement of unpopular trade laws, Providence residents spilled (arguably) the first blood of the American Revolution in 1772 in the notorious Gaspee Affair. During this period, Providence's population had exceeded 4,300 citizens by 1776, and Providence was able to avoid occupation by British soldiers during the American Revolutionary War, though the city did suffer major interruptions in education and trade as a result of its location and facility as quarters for many troops passing through the area.
Following the war, Providence's main focus on its economy shifted from maritime endeavors to manufacturing. Samuel Slater is credited as having begun the shift in about 1790, and historians mark the transformation's completion at about 1830. Manufacturing would be the city's major industry for the next one hundred years, particularly in machine tools, silverware, jewelry and textiles. At one time, Providence boasted the largest steam engine factory in the US (Corliss), the largest silverware plant (Gorham), the largest machine tool plant (Brown and Sharpe), the largest file and rasp maker (Nicholson), and the largest screw manufacturer (American Screw). The city's industries attracted many people, including immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, England, Italy, Portugal, Cape Verde, and French Canada. Nevertheless, the city experienced social strife, notably with a series of race riots between whites and blacks during the 1820s. In response to continued growth and social conflicts, Providence residents ratified a city charter in November 1831. The city became the sole capital of Rhode Island in 1900. From 1854 to 1900, Providence was the joint capital of the state with Newport.
[edit] Decline
The city began to see a decline by the mid-1920s as industries, notably in textiles, began to shut down and unemployment rose. The Great Depression hit the city hard, and Providence was further hit by the New England Hurricane of 1938, which flooded the downtown area. The city saw further decline as a result of the nation-wide trends affecting most American cities in the post-WWII era, with the construction of highways and increased suburbanization, manifested in the loss of population and capital.
Following Prohibition, which was exceedingly unpopular in Providence, the city become notorious as a bastion of organized crime. The city was the seat of power for the New England "Cosa Nostra" or Mafia. "The Office," as the organization was sometimes known, was run out of a small vending machine office on Atwells Avenue in the heart of Federal Hill, Providence's "Little Italy." The legendary mafia boss Raymond Patriarca ruled a vast criminal enterprise with an iron fist from here for over three decades. At the height of his power in the 1960s, Patriarca was thought to be more powerful than the Governor of Rhode Island and was alleged to have judges, the police, and politicians at his command through bribery and intimidation. Murders and disappearances associated with organized crime were commonplace during this period and were accepted with resignation by most Rhode Islanders.[1]
[edit] "Renaissance"
The city began to revive beginning in the 1970s. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of Community Development money, including funds from other federal, state, and city sources, were invested in the downtown area and neighborhoods throughout the city, and the population began to stabilize. In the 1990s, Mayor Vincent Cianci, Jr. showcased the city as a center for the arts and pushed for further revitalization. These included opening up the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers (which had been nearly paved over with enough crossings to warrant its being known as the "World's Widest Bridge"), moving a large section of railroad underground (a section separating the State House from Downtown, known colloquially as the "Chinese Wall"Chinese Wall"[2]), building Waterplace Park and riverwalks along the river's banks, and constructing the Fleet Skating Rink (now the Bank of America Skating Rink) in downtown and the 1.4 million ft2 Providence Place Mall.
The recent Providence Renaissance has triggered new investment within the city, including many new condo projects, hotels, and a new office tower, which are quickly filling in more of the land freed up by the railroad relocation. For more detail, see Current and Recent Construction Projects in Providence.
Although the new projects will expand the Providence tax base and build its skyline, there is disapproval from some local residents, who fear that some of the more modern-looking glass additions will taint the traditionally historic brick and concrete look of Down City Providence. Additional concerns include an equitable taxation policy for several of the new luxury highrises.
Due to the recent inundation of proposals in Providence, the city has begun a planning process to decide how to holistically incorporate all projects in a way that preserves the fabric of the city, promotes future development, and capitalizes on the historic nature of the city and waterfront land[3] . Emphasis has been stressed on the following:
- Development of a new streetcar system
- Redevelopment of centrally located land freed up by the relocation of Interstate 195
- Riverfront improvements on the Woonasquatucket River west of Providence Place, creating continuous pedestrian access to the waterfront
- Redevelopment of the corridor south of Downcity between the Providence River and Interstate 95.
Despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most New England post-industrial cities, with nearly 30 percent of its population living below the poverty line. Recent increases in real estate values further exacerbate problems for those at marginal income levels[4].
[edit] References
- ^ May, Allan. All About the Providence Mob. CrimeLibrary.com.
- ^ Woodward, Wm McKenzie. Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed, Oct 2003: United States. p13.
- ^ http://www.providenceconnects.org/matriarch/documents/Providence2020_lowres.pdf Providence 2020.
- ^ cnnmoney.com Money Magazine: Best Places to Live: Home Appreciation.
- 4. Three and One-Half Centuries at a Glance ProvidenceRI.com - History and Fact.
