Yay! Here is an excerpt:
AN Ivy League college, a cutting-edge art school and top-flight chefs have helped Providence shed its reputation as a Boston suburb. In recent years, Providence has not only seen a new convention center and a revitalized waterfront, but historic corridors have also been restored to their Revolutionary-era glory, giving the Rhode Island capital an architectural sense of place. But these cultural trappings, more commonly associated with overcrowded metropolises, have not caused this city of 200,000, near the banks of Narragansett Bay, to lose its small-town flavor. Drivers still request their initials on license plates, sandwich shops let regulars run a tab and Mayor David N. Cicilline greets residents by name and lists his home number in the phone book.
So I am pleased that they featured one of my favorite cities and that a few key places/events that just HAD to be mentioned. Noteably: Federal Hill, WaterFire, Local 121, the Historical East Side – including mentions of the Providence Athenaeum, the RISD Museum and Benefit St. and Roger Williams Park Zoo. (Even if we all know that Zoo is not in Providence.)
However, there is a lot happening in Providence that I would have rather seen mentioned instead of the food and “shopping area” choices that were made. Such as: anything happening at as220 or Firehouse 13 – especially the Green Zone installation that is there right now – Wickendon St. or even Thayer St. as a shopping alternative to Westminster (which as far as I know, is just a splattering of boutiques downcity), Julian’s, and Prospect Park Terrace.
They also managed to mention HP Lovecraft’s association with the East Side, while failing to talk about Edgar Allen Poe who lived and wrote several of his major works in the area. My favorite Poe lore is that he proposed to the woman who broke his heart on the corner right next to that church on Benefit St. (near Waterman) AND that his ghost supposedly still haunts the front steps of the Athenaeum.
I know this wasn’t a MAJOR travel feature and these are minute details, but didn’t they claim to go on a historical walking tour of that area? You would think Poe might have come up.
Also, when was Providence ever considered a Boston ‘burb? In my experience growing up in this state, Bostonians and Rhode Islanders keep it very separate. People who want to live in Boston, live in Boston (and there is a LOT of suburbanland to choose from if that’s the goal). I don’t know anyone who moves to Providence, with the prime attraction being “it’s near Boston”.
Also – (and I promise this is my last complaint) – I don’t understand how they listed FLIGHTS to Providence from NYC, but did not list that about a bazillion coach buses come from NYC every day into Kennedy Plaza. I mean really… who flies from NYC to Providence? If you are reading this and have that much money, you are clearly flying into Watch Hill or skipping RI entirely and heading for the Cape this summer.
1 Comment
4 August, 2008 at 1:01 pm
ok, so i love boston. LOVE it.
but not nearly as much as i love providence.
on my drive from my new home to my hometown, i almost always take the slightly-longer scenic route through providence, as opposed to the faster, but blander shortcut down 295.
there are few sights quite so endearing and comforting as the providence skyline. especially one financial. for some reason, i really adore that building.
also, few people understand what i mean when i say that rhode islanders are weird (i say this with love, and let’s remember that i am one) until i describe their uncanny devotion to a giant, blue scale-model of a termite, named nibbles woodaway.
bostonians are a different breed. they are fiercely loyal to their city, and i have never encountered a population so obsessed with the logo of their local sports team. seriously, the manny ramirez/jason bay trade was the top news story, over 2 amber alerts in the area!
providence is different. it is smaller, closer-knit, more independent as a city, but interdependent as a community. it is diverse and complex, but neat and navigable. when i’m done in boston, i think providence might be my next stop.