Providence, RI
Roger Williams founded Providence in October 1635 as a refuge for freethinkers and religious dissenters escaping the dictates of the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The city still embraces independent thinking in business, the arts, and academia. Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and Trinity Square Repertory Company are major forces in New England's intellectual and cultural life.
And with a slew of Hollywood productions being filmed in the city, including There's Something About Mary and Outside Providence, and an NBC show entitled Providence, the city is starting the new millennium as a city reborn.
When to Go
Rhode Island is largely a year-round destination. But many smaller museums and attractions are open only from Memorial Day to mid-October, at other times by appointment only. Memorial Day is the start of the migration to the beaches and the mountains, and summer begins in earnest on July 4.
Fall is the most colorful season in New England, a time when many inns and hotels are booked months in advance by foliage-viewing visitors. New England's dense hardwood forests explode in color as the diminishing hours of autumn daylight signal trees to stop producing chlorophyll. As green is stripped away from the leaves of maples, oaks, birches, beeches, and other deciduous species, a rainbow of reds, oranges, yellows, purples, and other vivid hues is revealed. The first scarlet and gold colors emerge in mid-September "peak" color occurs at different times from year to year. Generally, it's best to visit the northern reaches of New England in late September and early October and move southward as October progresses.
In winter, coastal New England is cold and damp. Spring is often windy and rainy; in many years it appears as if winter segues almost immediately into summer. Coastal areas can be quite humid in summer, making even moderate temperatures uncomfortable. Autumn temperatures can be quite mild well into October.
What to See
Brown University: The nation's seventh-oldest college, founded in 1764, is an Ivy League institution with more than 40 academic departments, including a school of medicine. Gothic and Beaux Arts structures dominate the campus, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The university is in College Hill, a neighborhood with handsome 18th- and 19th-century architecture well worth a stroll.
Rhode Island State House: The New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White designed this building to inspire awe, and indeed it does. Constructed from 1895 to 1901, the capitol has the first unsupported marble dome in the United States (fourth largest in the world), modeled on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In the state room you'll see a full-length portrait of George Washington by Rhode Islander Gilbert Stuart, the same artist who created the likeness on the $1 bill. You'll also see the original parchment charter granted by King Charles to the colony of Rhode Island in 1663.
John Brown House: John Quincy Adams called it "the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent." Designed by Joseph Brown for his brother in 1786, the three-story Georgian mansion has elaborate woodwork and is filled with decorative art, furniture, silver, and items from the China trade, which is how John Brown made his fortune. He was also a slave trader: his abolitionist brother, Moses, brought charges against him for illegally engaging in the buying and selling of human beings.
Federal Hill: You're as likely to hear Italian as English in this neighborhood, which is vital to Providence's culture and sense of self. The stripe down Atwells Avenue is repainted each year in red, white, and green, and a huge pigna (pinecone), an Italian symbol of abundance and quality, hangs on an arch soaring over the street. Hardware shops sell boccie sets and grocers sell a range of pastas and Italian pastries. The neighborhood truly shines during the Columbus Weekend Festival (held on the Sunday of that weekend), with music, food stands, and parades.
|
