Jewelry District, Providence, Rhode Island

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Providence neighborhoods with the Jewelry District in red
Providence neighborhoods with the Jewelry District in red

The Jewelry District comprises the area in Providence, Rhode Island between Interstate 195 and Henderson Street, including Davol Square and the waterfront, is commonly known as the Jewelry District.[1][2]Construction is under way to move Interstate 195 south.[3] The relocation project will unite the Jewelry District with the rest of Downtown.

[edit] Landmarks

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is the most prominent feature of this area . The barrier protects Providence from storm surge flooding like that it had endured in the 1938 New England Hurricane and again in 1954 from Hurricane Carol.[4] In both storms, downtown flooded to a depth of over eight feet at some locations.[5] Downtown has not suffered substantial flooding since the construction of the barrier.

A segment of Interstate 195 that spans the Jewelry District and Fox Point is in the process of being relocated south, in what the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has dubbed the "Iway" project. The relocation has resulted in a new Providence River bridge crossing. This recent addition spans the Providence River just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. Originally constructed in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, the Iway bridge had been floated north up Narragansett Bay for the project.[6]

There are plans for a new museum, the 'Heritage Harbor Museum,' to be located in a former power plant north of Davol Square that is now called the Dynamo House. The museum will highlight Providence's history as a commercial port.[7]

[edit] Collier Point Park

Collier Point Park is located along the Providence waterfront south of Davol Square. The park is home to a decommissioned Russian submarine, Juliet 484, which was used in 2000 for the filming of the movie K-19: The Widowmaker in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[8] The submarine had been in use as a museum until the submarine sank in a storm April 17-18, 2007. The submarine's owners plan to salvage the submarine and reopen the museum.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Providence Neighborhood Profiles
  2. ^ The Jewelry District
  3. ^ RIDOT's Iway - Relocating I-195 in Providence
  4. ^ History: A Rhode Island Tradition. The Providence Biltimore. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  5. ^ Providence Emergency Management Agency
  6. ^ RIDOT News- Carcieri Christens Iway Bridge
  7. ^ Heritage Harbor Museum - HHM
  8. ^ Juliett 484 - A History of Submarine K-77
  9. ^ Juliett 484