As part of a nationwide “City Beautiful” movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Providence’s civic leaders envisioned the creation of numerous parks through the city as a means to provide refuge and beauty for its citizens as a counterweight to overcrowding conditions. The population of Providence had doubled between 1880 to 1910, and with the accompanying building boom came the construction of  nearly 30,000 dwellings. The congestion of the city meant that parks were no longer considered “luxuries,” but instead were recognized by the 1906 Board of Trade Journal as “necessities for the health and wellbeing of every community.”   In its report presented to the City Council of Providence in 1906, the Metropolitan Park Commission urged the “building of a parkway from Promenade Street, running along the easterly side of Davis Park, then running in a westerly direction through Pleasant Valley, and extending to Academy Avenue.” This area, a natural valley amidst Providence’s hills, was named “Pleasant Valley Parkway.” The intent of the new boulevard was two-fold: first, it would provide a welcoming, green destination, especially for drivers as automobiles were recent luxuries for the wealthy; second, the park would also increase the real estate value of surrounding homes. Pleasant Valley Parkway’s geographical layout -- running north from Promenade Street to Davis Park, then angularly veering west to run parallel with Chalkstone Avenue, until briefly heading north again to connect to Academy Avenue  -- was a response to the area at the beginning of the twentieth century. The stretch from Promenade Street to Davis Park had, over time, become a communal dumping ground for the residents of Smith Hill. (Open dumping grounds were a common occurrence during this time period as this was the first time that city-dwellers outnumbered those in rural areas on average in the nation. Cities were filling faster with people than municipal demands could generally keep up with.) Pleasant Valley Parkway was planned to rehabilitate this unslighty dumping ground, turning it into a more sanitary, usable location. Added onto this section, the east-west turn of the Parkway continued, following the course of a natural brook, which was incorporated as the scenic center of the boulevard. Apparently, after its completion in 1909, response to the new green thoroughfare was poor. The Metropolitan Park Commission noted that “the Pleasant Valley Parkway will in time prove to be a good public investment although it now begins dismally at Promenade Street, and ends unfortunately, before it gets much of anywhere.” Despite this negative response, the Commission was hopeful that the changing waterfronts of downtown Providence would lead to changes in the streetscapes, and thus in the appeal of Pleasant Valley Parkway. Over that past century, some scenes along the Parkway have changed,  like the building of the Roger Williams Medical Center or Nathanael Greene Middle School, but a good portion of Pleasant Valley Parkway is still residential and scenic -- either overlooking parks or the green space of the boulevard. One can get a sense of how the area looked and felt over a century ago when it was first created. Moving to the  southernmost section, closest to Promenade Street and the Woonasquatucket River, is urban and industrialized, with a number of businesses and the Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant.

For more (including 2 images) view the original article

Home to RI's economic development agency, Commerce RI, along with several other businesses, the ALCO complex once housed a major innovator in the history of transportation.

The Rhode Island Locomotive Works constructed this building in 1865, just as the Civil War ended, with capital invested by General Ambrose Burnside of Bristol, RI. Burnside had earned his wealth from new rifle technology he patented just before the outbreak of the Civil War. He eventually reinvested his wartime profits into the booming business of railroad transportation. The Rhode Island Locomotive Works produced railroad engines for 30 years until it joined with seven other regional locomotive manufacturers to form the American Locomotive Company, or ALCO, in 1901. ALCO became the second largest steam locomotive builder in the US, producing 75,000 engines in total, including the famous “Big Boy” locomotives, the largest and most powerful engine ever created.

In 1905, the company diversified by investing in a line of automobiles and heavy trucks, spelling the beginning of the end of the railroad's monopoly on American transportation. Always on the cutting edge of innovation, ALCO obtained the American rights to the Berliet, a high-priced French car, and moved skilled mechanics from Lyons, France to Providence. The new car, priced between a jaw-dropping $6,000 to $7,500, proved to be an immediate success, at least, from the consumer's point of view. The company actually sold “the finest car produced in the US” at a loss, due to the difficulty of getting raw materials to Providence and to having a limited distribution network. Fortunately, ALCO’s line of trucks helped stem the company’s losses. By 1913, 85% of the company’s business came from trucks and 15% from high-end cars. In 1913, the New York City Postmaster gave the company its largest single order for 80 trucks, and ALCO further diversified its offerings by producing taxi cars.

Despite these efforts, ALCO announced it was leaving the car and truck business in 1913. It shuttered its Providence factory and gave notice to its entire workforce of 1,200 employees. During WWII, ALCO diversified its offerings and manufactured 7,362 army tanks, tank destroyers, shells, and bombs, in addition to locomotives. Though it no longer produced vehicles, ALCO continued to manufacture locomotives in its Schenectady, NY plant until 1968.

In Providence, US Rubber bought the ALCO plant and absorbed it into its own multi-building complex in 1918, a story told in the following stop of this tour.

For more (including 6 images) view the original article

Imagine this building as the central location for industry and modernity in 19th-century Providence. Picture a tangle of railroad tracks and constant motion, with engineers and manufacturers working hard to support (arguably) the most important place downtown––the railroad station. In the late 19th century Union Station was the hub of southeastern New England’s transportation network. Goods came and went through this terminal supporting the machinery, textile, and jewelry industries that fueled the growth and future of Providence.

For more (including 3 images & 1 audio file) view the original article

After World War II, Providence's fortunes were shifting. Textile jobs had moved south. Industry was leaving. Jewelry manufacturing went offshore. Between 1950 and 1980, the population of the city declined by a third. These western neighborhoods were hit hard. As part of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System and urban redevelopment efforts, I-95 was cut through here. The redevelopment of the high school campuses also meant significant demolition, leaving few traces of the neighborhood that was. Take a look at the two postcards, one looking eastward into downtown from Cathedral Square, just behind McVinney Auditorium, and the other looking westward up Westminster Street, to get a sense of how these streets and neighborhood once appeared.

For more (including 3 images) view the original article