I won’t kid you, on average there are more rainy days than Seattle, and lately it feels like we’ve taken a commanding lead in that department. The drivers are terrible and the roads which they travel upon are shattered, pothole laden, tire killers. There is no parking anywhere, and for those who try, they often return to where they left their vehicle to find it either towed or ticketed. The politics are completely lopsided, and psychologically incorrect. Almost the entire state legislature is made up of people who call themselves Democrats, yet many of their ideals align more closely with folk who style themselves as Republicans.
One might think with such a largely “democratic” representation at the State House, that a progressive agenda would be worked on to improve the quality of life for everyone. Not quite, for example: There seems to be a large, and somewhat organized community of gays and lesbians, however the likely hood of the State ever passing a same sex marriage bill before the Federal Government eventually does is slim to none. These contributing members of society often find themselves going over the border to Massachusetts, where they are “allowed” to marry the person whom they love.
To an outsider it may seem strange as to why they wouldn’t stay in Massachusetts. After all, the Commonwealth does have a healthcare system that protects all of its residents, and since unemployment has risen over thirteen percent in Rhode Island, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize where a brighter future may lie. So why do we love Providence so much? I mean those of us who live here.
Every fall we become second class citizens to the influx of students who come to piss away their parent’s money in one of the many colleges and universities. Then we are made to suffer the endless banter of their zero, real world experienced ideals in our pubs and taverns. Every winter we are victims to the snow plows who are nowhere in sight during a blizzard and everywhere at once when there’s a dusting. In the spring our basements flood and our sewage treatment plants overflow with rainwater runoff, polluting our waterways with our own human waste. Even the summer can be cruel when the humidity clings to our skin and creates a paradise for the mosquitoes carrying West Nile or the ticks and their Lyme disease. We love every minute of it, are we stupid? Nope, we are just the decedents of puritans, meaning we like it rough.
In the past you might have argued that it was the booming art and music scene that made Providence the haven which we dutifully promote at every opportunity. After all the city has given birth to and supported many acts who have been lifted up to international status, including noise rockers Lightening Bolt, or the Chinese Stars, sick grindcore bands like Daughters, or more recently epic folk acts like Deertick. Even though all these groups still remain alive and well, the venues that once supported our vibrant scene have vanished, either because they were condemned or because the owners and operators could no longer afford the spaces or the taxes imposed upon them. Pawtucket seems to have picked up some of the burden though, and in my opinion that this is where Rhode Islands’ music and art culture will continue to thrive. Many of the former patrons turned propeteirs are moving that way and “keeping the flame alive” so to speak.
Despite all this gloom and doom, I still love Providence. I love Providence because…well, I’m not really quite sure why. Truth be told, almost everyone in Providence is an artist of some sort, so in return almost every home or residence has become a gallery or live music venue. The only thing that’s lame about living in such an artistic community is the hipsters. These kids don’t have a creative bone in their body, apart from their overpriced pre-ripped clothing, and live a vicarious life based on knowledge of obscure bands that nobody else seems to know about and books they only have read the back of. But that’s a whole other story.
Do we love the city because it’s so safe and comfortable? Could be… I literally can bike from one end of the city to the other in twenty minutes, so that’s a plus, and it’s definitely safe. You may hear from people who live outside the city to “stay clear of South Providence,” or “don’t walk through the West End at night”. This hasn’t been the case in my experience. I lived in South Providence for two years, and would often stumble home late at night, on foot, by myself, on a route that also would take me through the West End, and I never had any trouble. In contrast I lived in an apartment located around Providence College for about six months, and during that time I saw two shootings from the comfort of my living room window. I could make a joke about Catholics and violence, (PC is a Catholic School) but the truth is that it was kids just being stupid, and you will always find kids being stupid and dangerous no matter where or when you live. They always have something to prove.
Providence has a collection of some historic and culturally diverse neighborhoods. Many have neighborhood associations which take ownership and pride in the streets they represent. My favorite is the Armory District located between the West End, West Broadway, and Olneyville. West Broadway is actually a part of Federal Hill that sort of leaks over into the West End. The Armory is full of old row houses, many of which still have the original carriage houses which have been converted into quaint apartments. Most of these homes were built in the mid 1800’s to house Irish immigrants who came to work in the nearby factories of Olneyville. I believe there was once a streetcar or trolley that would bring the workers back and forth; however it could easily be a walk able commute to work. The neighborhood is most known for the armory itself, a giant, golden bricked, castle, complete with a park, that on any given day will simultaneously host games of soccer, baseball, wiffelball, kickball, Frisbee, fetch, catch, and whatever else you can think of.
The Castle and Armory Park were originally built for the local militia to train on. The land was donated by one of the last remaining members of the Dexter family after he passed away. On the other side of town you can find another piece of land that he donated to the city that was eventually sold to Brown University and converted into the Brown Athletic Complex. It used to be known as the Dexter Asylum, and was built to house many of the destitute and poor farm families of Providence who were rapidly losing their family homes and lands around the turn of the century. Although the original building, which was built from the same gold bricks that was used in construction of the Armory, has long since been torn down by Brown, the original eight foot stone wall that surrounds the entire property is still there.
A lot of people come to Providence to behold the spectacular event dubbed “Water Fire.” Nobody who actually lives here attends this touristy type attraction though. In fact we usually forget about it until one random Saturday night when we are trying to cut across town, and end up stuck in traffic. A five minute drive ends up becoming a grueling hour long battle of stop and go, motor vehicle warfare, as we weed through the rubber necks from Massachusetts who search for our fabled, parking spots. In case you’re wondering, Water Fire is an outdoor event that usually takes place on a weekend night downtown, at Waterplace Park. And yes its downtown, not “downcity” as many out of state developers like to call it. Bonfires are lit on the river, and ambient music is played while couples enjoy romantic gondola rides on polluted, oxygen deprived water. Dead fish smell really gets those romantic juices flowing for some people I guess.
I could sit here and write about this town forever, and believe me sometimes I do, but that would just turn into a bore fest, so I think I’ll stop for now. Point is; Providence is a great place to be because of the community that is still evolving and continuing to find itself. I’ve seen the place become really cool and then shitty and back again, and so on. Think of it as your teenage cousin who has just learned to play guitar. Sure right now he only plays Green Day, but soon he will discover Black Flag, and then you guys can jam. Then he will meet a girl who only likes boy bands and he will forget about the guitar, and put gel in his hair. Then he’ll realize how much this actually blows and dump the girl and start his own band. Then he’ll make a record, and sell out like Green Day but donate fifty percent of album sales to breast cancer research. That’s what Providence is like…some good, some bad, but hey that’s the way it goes.
