Providence

Providence: Day Two

Our tour checked out breakfast at Agora, located in the Western Providence Hotel. They serve a delicious buffet breakfast. After dining, we were treated to a ninety-minute city trolley tour provided by Conway tours. Yesterday we explored the area around the river; today we were able to see a little beyond that. Our driver narrated as we took in sights along the way. Greeted by a welcoming archway to Federal Hill, we entered the Italian district. One after another, restaurants and specialty shops beckoned us to come inside and eat. We took a short stop at a public park called De Pasquale Square, which is lined with painted murals and outdoor cafes.

Providence, we learned, was at one time a central area for those in the costume jewelry or clothing business, but the industrial city was dying and downtown Providence was becoming run-down. The city has recently made a turn-around and has had a resurgence of culture and arts: probably affected in part by the many institutions of higher learning. Our journey took us passed the arcade (the oldest mall in the country), built in 1828, with solid stone interior columns.

In the College Hill area there are cafes, bookstores, Starbucks and casual restaurants catering to the many college students. Our guide also pointed out John Brown's house, of Brown University fame, which is open to the public for tours; The Rhode Island Statehouse, which has one of the largest freestanding domes in the world; and Kennedy Plaza where JFK spoke in the sixties. Our next stop was at Prospect Park, which provides a great view of the city, and where a life-sized statue of Roger Williams stands. The trolley tour is a great way to see the city and to discover a few places to where you may want to return.

Nearby is The Rhode Island School of Design. Rhode Island had a booth at the Philadelphia Centennial World's Fair in 1876. It was visited by some prominent Providence ladies interested in the arts. They came back from the fair and decided to start an art school. So The Rhode Island School of Design was built for the 100th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Because the school specialized in textile, design, and fine arts, a museum was soon built to house these collections, in order to expose the students to an array of artists and styles. The museum has grown so much that they can only show 1% of their holdings at any given time. There are rooms of furniture, porcelain, china, impressionist paintings, sculptures, and Asian art