Jewelry District (Providence)

The Jewelry District is a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island located just south of Downtown between Interstate 195 and Henderson Street. Interstate 95 lies at the western edge of the neighborhood, which includes Davol Square and the waterfront along the west bank of the Providence River.[1][2]

Jewelry District
Location of the Jewelry District (dark green) and Downtown (light green) in Providence

Beginning in the 19th century, the area became home to a large number of jewelry manufacturing companies. 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, thereby reconnecting the district with Downtown Providence.[3]

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

Landmarks

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is the most prominent feature of this area. The barrier protects Providence from storm surge flooding like that it had endured in the 1938 New England Hurricane and again in 1954 from Hurricane Carol.[4] In both storms, downtown flooded to a depth of over eight feet at some locations.[5] Downtown has not suffered substantial flooding since the construction of the barrier.

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 made available 19 acres of land in and adjacent to the Jewelry District. 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.[6][7]

South Street Landing in 2018

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 next door.[8]

Since 2018, a number of major development projects in the neighborhood have been completed, including multiple housing complexes, a six story garage, and a hotel.[8][9]

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.[10]

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.[11] 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. "History: A Rhode Island Tradition". The Providence Biltimore. Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  5. Providence Emergency Management Agency
  6. Brown, Eliot (2014-03-05). "Providence Reclaims a 'Link' to Its Past". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. D'Ambrosio, Daniel. "How Rhode Island Is Sparking Another Industrial Revolution". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  8. 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. 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.
  11. "Juliett 484 - A History of Submarine K-77". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-04.

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