Providence, Rhode Island, is the coolest city in New England. I would even put it on the shortlist of coolest small cities in the United States. (It has about 170,000 people, with another million in the surrounding area.)
Like Rome, Providence congregates around seven hills. The two to keep in mind are Federal and College. Like many cities, it’s traversed by a river; unlike most, its river had been paved over by the world’s widest concrete bridge until the Nineties, when it was uncovered and brilliantly lit afire. More on that later.
Like few other cities, Providence gives tax incentives to artists not institutions. And unlike any other, it was founded by Roger Williams, one of the great iconoclasts of the 17th century. Williams was kicked out of Massachusetts Bay for daring to believe in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He founded Providence as a haven of tolerance.
Williams said, “When you do what you do best, you are not only helping yourself but the world.” What Providence does best today is create: art, food, architecture and faculties for critical thought, to name a few of its strengths. It is home to Brown University — the hippest Ivy League school, founded by an 18th-century slave trader, once home to Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame) – as well as six other colleges and universities including Rhode Island School of Design, perennially the number one art school in the US.
RISD (pronounced “Rizdee”) is responsible not only for the city’s vibrant, experimental arts scene — the downtown and jewellery districts are packed with galleries and studios — but for making Providence the foodie capital of New England. Chefs such as Bruce Tillinghast, of New Rivers restaurant, began in the visual but veered into the culinary arts. Tillinghast says, “I find both colour and food very sensual. The creative leap you make when you imagine colour in your head is the same as when you imagine flavour: one employs vision and the other taste.”
Brown and RISD cling to College Hill (well, RISD clings to the slope; Brown crowns the crest) on Providence’s smart East Side, which is home to some of the America’s most magnificent early architecture. In fact there are more intact colonial homes in Providence than anywhere else in the US.
The place to see them is Benefit Street, once a red-light district so down on its luck that no one could afford to bulldoze the dilapidated old buildings – in hindsight, a stroke of luck. Today it’s a showcase of 200 years of American architecture, from clapboard colonials to gabled and turreted Victorians.
To get a sense of the city’s diversity – ethnically, geographically, historically – head down College Hill (carefully; it’s steep, and the pavements are of uneven brick) to Waterplace Park, a resurrected cove that was also once hidden under concrete.
Like the Riverwalk that blends into it, Waterplace Park is the site of art festivals and concert series in summer, and ice skating in winter. Its greatest triumph is a sculpture installation called WaterFire: on selected nights throughout the year, volunteers in rowing boats stoke wood into wrought-iron urns anchored in the river, and set the logs blazing.
There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world. The medieval smell of wood smoke in a contemporary urban setting, and the elemental play of water and fire stir an uncanny pairing of opposites guaranteed to raise hairs on the back of your neck.
From downtown head up to Federal Hill, the increasingly sophisticated Little Italy (once the mob capital of New England), filled with Italian cafés, restaurants and stores. The centre line of Atwells Avenue, the main street, is painted the shades of the Italian flag: red, white and green.
You might be glad of a hat on this walk. The wind whips off Narragansett Bay – the sea whipped in once, too, during the 1938 hurricane, and inundated downtown. You can often smell the ocean, and its promise of wide-open horizons, in the heart of the city. Which is one more of Providence’s charms. Tiny Rhode Island has almost 3,500 miles of sandy beaches, and its capital is no more than an hour from any – and just one hour from Boston and Cape Cod, and three from New York.
Founding cities is unquestionably what Roger Williams did best.
Getting there
British Airways (
www.ba.com) flies to Boston for £450 return; from Boston, the MBTA Commuter Rail to Providence costs £6.50 and takes just over an hour. Or fly
Continental Airlines (
www.continental.com) to Providence’s T F Green Airport via Newark (the easiest-navigated of all NYC-area airports), for £380 return.
Staying there
Providence has its share of competent chain hotels – the Westin and Hilton – plus a hoary favourite, the Biltmore. Here are some excellent independent options.
Hotel Providence (001 44 401 861 8000;
www.hotelprovidence.com) is the city’s premier boutique hotel. In the heart of downtown, it’s serious about attending to travellers’ needs – fine bedding, concierge service, Wi-Fi, fitness studio – but is also intimate and eclectic. Rooms are stylistically inspired by authors such as Tolstoy, Dumas, Alcott and Dickinson. Its restaurant, Aspire, and bar, A-bar, are two of the hottest venues in town. Doubles from £145 to £463.
Hotel Dolce Villa (401 383 7031;
www.dolcevillari.com) is one of a few lodging options in Little Italy, on Federal Hill. It’s a suite hotel (nine one-bedrooms, five two-bedrooms); all suites have kitchens, which makes this a good option for a money-saving, multiple-night stay. A snappy white-on-white scheme runs throughout. Doubles from £107 to £196.
The
Old Court Bed & Breakfast (401 751 2002;
www.oldcourt.com) is a converted rectory on fabled Benefit Street – a great location for exploring College Hill or downtown. Beautifully appointed inside and out, its antique-filled rooms manage to be elegant and comfortable. Breakfasts are home-made. Ten double rooms range from £73 to £130.
Eating & drinking
Intimate and freshly renovated, in an old College Hill building,
New Rivers (401 751 0350;
www.newriversrestaurant.com) is one of the city’s best bets. Dishes made from local, organic ingredients feature native cod, Vermont quail and creative pastas. Prix fixe menu at £17.
One of the standouts on Federal Hill is
Mediterraneo Caffe (401 331 7760;
www.mediterraneocaffe.com). A favourite among visiting celebrities (Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin were spotted there recently), it has a great wine list and hip atmosphere. The Italian fare is authentic with a stylish touch. Dinner for two with wine costs about £64.
For lighter meals don’t miss
Olga’s Cup and Saucer (401 831 6666;
http://olgascup andsaucer.blogspot.com/), an artisanal bakery and café owned by another RISD graduate that is open for breakfast and lunch in the arty jewellery district, and
Andreas (401 331 7879;
www.andreasri.com), a long-time Greek-flavoured favourite on Thayer Street, in the heart of the Brown campus.
For good booze and a relaxed pub atmosphere, try
Finnegan’s Draft House (401 751 0290) downtown, which consistently draws a crowd for its huge selection of beers and perfectly cooked food.
If you have a car, drive to East Providence for authentic Portuguese food (Portuguese-speaking communities have thrived in southern New England since 19th-century whaling days). Try the octopus at the reasonable
Estrela Do Mar (401 434 5621).
I’m putting this next item in with “Drink” and as a segue to art.
Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel (401 272 5876;
www.lupos.com) has been the go-to club since I was a student in Providence, circa 1980. It books everyone from new bands to big names looking for an intimate space, and is the best live music venue in town. Cover charges range from £8 to £24.
Art notes
Don’t miss one of the
WaterFire river installations: see
www.waterfire.org for times and dates, and plan your visit accordingly.
Because it’s a teaching museum, the
RISD Museum (401 454 8500;
www.risdmuseum.org) has a comprehensive collection, from ancient to ultra-contemporary artefacts, and is one of the great small museums in the US. Check out the costume and textile holdings.
Another must is
RISD Works (401 277 4949;
www.risdworks.com), which sells fine and applied art by RISD graduates. Some of the work is mind-blowing.
AS220 (401 861 9190;
www.as220.org) is a uniquely Providence venture, vital to both working artists and their audiences. It has gallery space, a darkroom, print shop, studios, performance space and a good bar (its sangria gets high marks), and serves vegetarian-friendly food. Go to create, see, eat, drink and listen – preferably not all at once.
Check out Providence’s
Gallery Night (
www.gallerynight.info) , which happens the third Thursday of every month, from March until November. Art buses cruise around to the city’s galleries – including
Gallery 17 Peck (401 331 2561;
www.17peck.com), a force in contemporary art, photography, and American Indian art. Free themed, bike, and walking tours.
The
Providence Art Club (401 331 1114;
www.providenceartclub.org) occupies nearly a whole block of Thomas Street – one of the steepest roads leading up College Hill. It offers artists studio and gallery space in a collection of clapboard and brick buildings, and one half-timbered, craftsman-style extravaganza. Worth a look for the outside, as well as what’s on show inside.
Other things to do
You can saunter down Benefit Street on your own and mosey into the Brown campus — University Hall was a Revolutionary War barracks (the soldiers stole all the brass doorknobs) – but it’s far more interesting to walk with a
Rhode Island Historical Society guide (401 273 7507, ext 62;
www.rihs.org). Walk-in tours run from June 15 to October 15 and cost £7. For £10 you can also tour the John Brown House Museum (built in 1786 by the man who founded Brown University).
Some concluding advice: when the wind gets to you, go to the movies at the
Cable Car (401 272 3970;
www.cablecarcinema.com), a cinema/café with sofa seating, or the
Art Deco Avon Cinema (401 421 3315;
www.avoncinema.com), at the bottom and top of College Hill, respectively. Both show art house fare. Or if you have a yen to shop, hit Thayer Street before the Avon movie; it bisects Brown’s campus and attracts hip, college-age types. Wickenden Street, in the still Portuguese-flavoured Fox Point neighbourhood, abutting Brown, has funkier options. Or just give in and go downtown to P
rovidence Place (401 270 1000;
www.providenceplace.com), probably the best mall in New England.
Just to say you did it: drop in on
Ladd Observatory on College Hill (401 863 2323;
www.brown.edu/Departments/Physics/Ladd), a tiny structure built in 1891 that offers free telescope-viewing every Tuesday night. Or visit the
Culinary Museum of Johnson & Wales (401 598 2805;
www.culinary.org), which hordes menus and cookbooks going back to the 16th century, Chinese and Egyptian artefacts, and even an authentic American diner from 1925. Admission £4.
