Proposal and Analysis, Downtown, Providence, RI

Site Conditions – MURL Proposal - Providence, Rhode Island
The Woonasquatucket River courses through the middle of downtown Providence. It is a currently a major part of public life in Providence as a site for festivals in the summer as well as a defining boundary between the “downcity” area and the east side of town. Historically, it was a significant enough geographical feature to determine the development of mills and worker housing as well as the placement of rail lines. The streets that run along the Woonasquatucket River were formerly a major linkage between those industrial neighborhoods and downtown.

Today, the Promenade District has fallen into neglect and is the site of abandoned or nondescript buildings, steel stockyards, empty lots, chain link fence, and overgrown brush. Industry has moved on and the surrounding housing no longer relates to those remaining complexes. It has become a disjointed and awkward space within the city. Read more about the Woon. River here...