PROVIDENCE, the capital and largest city of Rhode Island, U.S.A., a port of entry and the county seat of Providence county; at the head of Providence river (the north arm of Narragansett bay), 27 m. from the Atlantic ocean, 45 m. S.S.W. of Boston and 185 m. E.N.E. of New York city. It is on Federal highways I and 6; and is served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad and 8 steamship lines, including the Fabre line operating to Mediterranean ports. There are several privately owned airports in and near the city and a project for a State airport here is under way. Pop. (1920) 237,595 (39% of the total population of the State), of whom 68,951 were foreign-born white; in 1910 it was 252,981.
The city has a land area of 18.34 sq.m., diversified in natural character and irregularly laid out. The Seekonk and the Provi drnce rivers hound it on the east; the Providence and the Moshassuck divide it into east and west sides; and the Woona squatucket divides the west side into north and south sections. The east side (the part of most historic interest) embraces hills rising to a height of 200 feet. The newer business district lies a long the west hank of the Providence river, and some of the largest buildings stand on made land. Most of the factories are on the banks of the Woonasquatucket and the Moshassuck. The names of the older streets (such as Benevolent, Benefit, Hope, Friendship, Peace, Pound, Sovereign, Shilling, Dollar and Dou bloon) recall the religious spirit of the early city and its com mercial character. From the Union station one steps directly into the civic centre, a broad open plaza surrounded by govern ment (Federal, city and county) and business buildings and hotels. Aloof on a hill to the west, but only half a mile distant, the most conspicuous feature of the landscape and commanding a wide view of city, bay and surrounding country, is the large State house (designed by McKim, Meade and White and com pleted in 1902) of Georgia marble and white granite, surmounted by a marble dome 235 ft. high. In it is a full length portrait of Washington, by Gilbert Stuart (who was born in Rhode Island), and many other interesting paintings, and here is preserved the original charter of the Colony, framed in wood from the "Gaspee." Adjacent to the civic centre on the east is the retail shopping and business district, where tall modern structures of steel and stone rise above the older buildings. An interesting
building is the Arcade (1828) with six massive Ionic columns at each entrance. The chamber of commerce occupies the old Market house, built in 1773, where a local "tea-party" was held on March 1, 1775, and Rochambeau's troops were quartered later. Behind the business district College hill rises steeply, covered with historic landmarks. On its slopes lies the campus of Brown university (q.v.), where Revolutionary troops were quartered in university hall. At its foot stands the First Baptist meetinghouse (built in 1775 to house the church organized by Roger Williams in 1636), which has one of the finest church spires in America, and a beautiful interior, with a crystal chandelier in use since 1792. Its bell still rings the curfew at nine o'clock. Near by is the old Colony house, where the Rhode Island Declaration of Independence was signed on May 4, 1776, two months before the event in Philadelphia. Farther up the hill are the museum and library of the Rhode Island Historical Society, the ivy-covered Athenaeum, and Pendleton house (a museum), furnished with one of the finest collections of early American furniture in existence. Among the old mansions still standing are the homes of John Brown (built in 1786), Thomas Poynton Ives (1806), Col. Joseph Nightingale (1791), Joseph Russell (1772), Peter Randell (1748), Stephen Hopkins (1742) and that of Esek Hopkins (1718-1802), commander of the American navy during the Revolution, stand ing in a park formed from his estate. The Providence Art club occupies the homes of Nicholas Brown (1787) and Siril Dodge (1793). Many more modest colonial houses (usually of red brick with white marble trimmings, and occasionally set in a walled garden) add to the charm of this section of the city. The Friends' meeting house was erected in 1759. The first Unitarian church (organized 1773) has a bell cast by Paul Revere and his son. The city's parks and playgrounds cover 790 ac., and there are also large reservations under the control of the State. Chief among the municipal parks is Roger Williams park (451 ac.), part of the original tract ceded to Williams by Miantonomo, in which is the cottage (1775) of Betsy Williams, a lineal descendant. The North burial ground contains the graves of many men of prominence in the early history of the State and the nation.