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Jewelry District (Providence)

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Coordinates: 41°49′05″N 71°24′25″W / 41.818°N 71.407°W / 41.818; -71.407
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Jewelry District
Location of the Jewelry District (dark gray) and Downtown (medium gray) in Providence
Location of the Jewelry District (dark gray) and Downtown (medium gray) in Providence
Coordinates: 41°49′05″N 71°24′25″W / 41.818°N 71.407°W / 41.818; -71.407

The Jewelry District is a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island located just southeast of Downtown. The historical path of Interstate 195 delineates the neighborhood's northern border while Interstate 95 and the Providence River define its western, southern and eastern edges.[1][2]

Beginning in the 19th century, the area became a center of jewelry manufacturing. In the 1960s, the area was detached from the rest of Downtown with the construction of Interstate 195. A major construction project completed in 2013 relocated Interstate 195 further south, reconnecting the district with Downtown Providence and freeing 19 buildable acres of land.[3][4]

Contained within the Jewelry District neighborhood is the Providence Jewelry Manufacturing Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and expanded in 2012.

History

During 19th and 20th centuries, the manufacturing of jewelry and costume jewelry emerged as a dominant local industry.[5][6] Jewelry manufacturing began in the Providence in 1794; by 1880 Rhode Island's jewelry industry accounted for more than one quarter of the nation's jewelry production.[7] The industry peaked in 1978 with 32,500 workers, then began a swift decline.[5] By 1996, the number of jewelry workers shrank to 13,500.[5]

Over the following decades, the large jewelry factories that had once dominated the Jewelry District were closed or vacated.

During the 2000s and early 2010s, a segment of Interstate 195 that marked the northeastern edge of the Jewelry District was relocated south. Dubbed the "Iway", the relocation project made available buildable 19 acres of land in and adjacent to the Jewelry District. Since 2018, a number of major projects have begun and been completed on and adjacent to the redevelopment parcels. Among the development project are multiple housing complexes, a six story parking garage, and a hotel.[8][9]

The city and state have marketed the new neighborhood as Providence's "Innovation & Design District", with the intention of establishing the area as a hub for science, technology, and education in the city.[10][11]

In 2019, the city opened a new pedestrian bridge, connecting the Jewelry District to East Side; an adjacent waterfront park was opened the following year.[12]

Geography

Landmarks

South Street Landing in 2021

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is the most prominent feature of this area. The barrier protects Providence from storm surge flooding like that it endured in the 1938 New England Hurricane and again in 1954 from Hurricane Carol.[13] In both storms, downtown flooded to a depth of over eight feet at some locations.[14] Downtown has not suffered substantial flooding since the construction of the barrier.

Additionally recognizable are the three smokestacks of the Manchester Street Generating Station and the large brick form of South Street Station.

South Street Landing is a prominent structure in the neighborhood, located on Eddy Street right on the river, adjacent to the Point Street Bridge. The large building had served as a power station from 1912 to 1995, and subsequently sat vacant and decaying for many years.[8] Various redevelopment projects were proposed which never came to fruition.[8] In 2017 the structure was entirely renovated and re-opened under the name South Street Landing.[8] The building is shared by Brown University, Rhode Island College, and University of Rhode Island.[8] A 750-space parking garage was constructed adjacent to the building.[8]

Collier Point Park

Collier Point Park is located along the Providence waterfront south of Davol Square. The park was home to a decommissioned Russian submarine, Juliet 484, which was used in 2000 for the filming of the movie K-19: The Widowmaker in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[15] The submarine had been in use as a museum until the submarine sank in a storm April 17–18, 2007. The submarine's owners had planned to salvage the submarine and reopen the museum, but were unable to obtain sufficient funds for the project.

References

  1. ^ "Providence Neighborhood Profiles". Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  2. ^ The Jewelry District
  3. ^ RIDOT's Iway - Relocating I-195 in Providence Archived 2005-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Abbott, Elizabeth (2015-08-18). "Providence, R.I., Is Building on a Highway's Footprint". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  5. ^ a b c Abbott, Elizabeth (26 January 1997). "Providence Jewelry District Gets a New Luster". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. ^ Davis, Paul (4 July 2015). "R.I.'s jewelry industry history in search of a permanent home". Providence: The Providence Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2016. In 1794, Seril Dodge opened a jewelry store on North Main Street in Providence, and Nehemiah Dodge developed a process for coating lesser metals with gold and silver. Historians say that the two men started Rhode Island's jewelry industry.
  7. ^ Lightfoot, D. Tulla (2019-02-21). The Culture and Art of Death in 19th Century America. McFarland. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-4766-3518-7.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Nesi, Ted (29 November 2017). "Old power station transformed as ribbon cut on $220M South Street Landing project". WPRI Eyewitness News. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ^ Fenton, Josh. "New Providence — Wexford & Pedestrian Bridge Shift City's Focus From Superman and Financial District". GoLocalProv. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  10. ^ Brown, Eliot (2014-03-05). "Providence Reclaims a 'Link' to Its Past". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  11. ^ D'Ambrosio, Daniel. "How Rhode Island Is Sparking Another Industrial Revolution". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  12. ^ NEWS, R. J. HEIM, NBC 10 (2020-05-21). "Waterfront parks adjacent to the Providence pedestrian bridge ready to open soon". WJAR. Retrieved 2020-11-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "History: A Rhode Island Tradition". The Providence Biltimore. Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  14. ^ Providence Emergency Management Agency
  15. ^ "Juliett 484 - A History of Submarine K-77". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  16. ^ List, Madeleine. "R.I., Providence officials laud opening of 'beehive of innovation'". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
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