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The "Squares" of Providence...


Garris

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Hi everyone,

I was thinking of doing a photo project trying to photograph all of Providence's neighborhood "Squares" (I'm holding off on skyline photography until everything is done, but I'm getting bored with the wait :) ). Sooooo, I want to compile list of "major" (ex: Davol) and "minor" (ex: Richmond) Squares in the city.

Thus far, I was thinking:

Major:

-------

Wayland

Davol

"Beirne" (intersection of Hope and Rochambeau)

Moshassuck

Olneyville

LaSalle

Minor:

-------

The two on the WBNA map I didn't know existed before Tuesday Night's GC:PVD exchange (Luongo and the one at Westminster)

Cathedral

Emmett (you know you're a UP:Prov old timer if you know where this is)

Richmond

What am I missing??

- Garris

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I've never in my 30+ years living in Providence ever heard anyone say Beirne Square. The may be a plaque saying that but it's not a name that anybody actually uses.

The traditional name for Moshassuck is Randall Square although you don't hear that much anymore.

There's also Columbus Square where Elmwood and Reservoir intersect and (recently) Eagle Square which seems to be catching on not just to refer to the shopping center but the area.

There's Kennedy Plaza, Market Square, and Turk's Head downtown. Cathedral Square was pretty much destroyed but may come back when they reconnect Westminster. And there's Hoyle Square where Westminster, Cranston, etc intersect.

Providence doesn't have the tradition of referring to squares as much as in Boston. If you want to say "Beirne Square" and be understood by a local you would just say corner of Rochambeau and Hope. A lot of major intersections in Providence don't even have names.

Hi everyone,

I was thinking of doing a photo project trying to photograph all of Providence's neighborhood "Squares" (I'm holding off on skyline photography until everything is done, but I'm getting bored with the wait :) ). Sooooo, I want to compile list of "major" (ex: Davol) and "minor" (ex: Richmond) Squares in the city.

Thus far, I was thinking:

Major:

-------

Wayland

Davol

"Beirne" (intersection of Hope and Rochambeau)

Moshassuck

Olneyville

LaSalle

Minor:

-------

The two on the WBNA map I didn't know existed before Tuesday Night's GC:PVD exchange (Luongo and the one at Westminster)

Cathedral

Emmett (you know you're a UP:Prov old timer if you know where this is)

Richmond

What am I missing??

- Garris

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Odd Fellows Square (Plainfield and Pocasset)

Hopkins Square (Branch Charles Hawkins)

Trinity Square (Elmwood Broad)

Washington Square (Broad and Eddy)

Franklin Square (Eddy and Allens)

Eagle Square (Atwells, Eagle, Harris)

and that's just scratching the surface. I think just about every major intersection has a name of some kind. by the way, its technically Robert Emmet Square... named for the Irish revolutionary.

Hi everyone,

I was thinking of doing a photo project trying to photograph all of Providence's neighborhood "Squares" (I'm holding off on skyline photography until everything is done, but I'm getting bored with the wait :) ). Sooooo, I want to compile list of "major" (ex: Davol) and "minor" (ex: Richmond) Squares in the city.

Thus far, I was thinking:

Major:

-------

Wayland

Davol

"Beirne" (intersection of Hope and Rochambeau)

Moshassuck

Olneyville

LaSalle

Minor:

-------

The two on the WBNA map I didn't know existed before Tuesday Night's GC:PVD exchange (Luongo and the one at Westminster)

Cathedral

Emmett (you know you're a UP:Prov old timer if you know where this is)

Richmond

What am I missing??

- Garris

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I always call the intersection of Federal and Dean, "Federal Square" but I think I might have made that up.

I think this would be a good project to highlight the current condition of our squares. Franklin Square comes to mind as being little more than a traffic sewer right now and will soon have the highway interchange over it. It would be great to somehow creatively bring that back.

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Is there a name for the intersection at Wickenden and Governor Streets? I ask because they recently re-designed the intersection with brick, and some kind of memorial.

There's a pretty major one that hasn't been mentioned, DePasquale Square in Federal Hill. And there's Memorial Square downtown by the war memorials.

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Great feedback everyone!

Major squares I forgot:

Eagle: Yup, a big miss on my part...

Market: How did I forget that?

Minor Squares I forgot:

Luongo: I'd been here before and didn't know it had a name... Not much there, though!

Trinity: Good one to point out. One of the few in Providence slated to get some improvements, I think.

Regarding the issue of Moshassuck vs Randall Square:

I'm not sure about this one. Given the medical complex with the "Moshassuck" name, I've actually heard it referred more as Moshassuck Square than Randall. There's also the apartment complex's clear "Moshassuck Square Apartments" sign which makes it highly identifiable as such (and compellingly photographable as well).

For now, I'm going with the identifier of, "Moshassuck (Randall) Square."

Memorial:

Is this a Square or a Park? I've always called it Memorial Park...

DePasquale:

Is this DePasquale Square or Plaza?

Kennedy Plaza:

A plaza as far as I'm concerned, not a square...

Turk's Head area:

Does this area actually have a "Square" name?

West Side:

Does Hoyle Square = Canonicus Square?

Wickenden and Governor:

Good question... I've wondered this myself. No name that I'm aware of...

I always call the intersection of Federal and Dean, "Federal Square" but I think I might have made that up.

I think this would be a good project to highlight the current condition of our squares.

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Regarding the issue of Moshassuck vs Randall Square:

I'm not sure about this one. Given the medical complex with the "Moshassuck" name, I've actually heard it referred more as Moshassuck Square than Randall. There's also the apartment complex's clear "Moshassuck Square Apartments" sign which makes it highly identifiable as such (and compellingly photographable as well).

For now, I'm going with the identifier of, "Moshassuck (Randall) Square."

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i think there's a depasquale square and a depasquale plaza.

luongo square doesn't seem to have anything in it other than residential now that the decatur is gone.

as a new resident of "federal square", i'd love to see this become more, but it is mostly residential, so they can't just kick people out.

odd fellows square has a bunch of retail, and silver lake in general has a TON of potential to be a pretty cool neighborhood.

hopkins square is an awesome area. i partly wish i could've found an apartment near there, but we didn't.

please please please don't forget eagle park square (intersection of douglas and admiral). this is one area i would love to see improved (and it's doing it little by little on its own, but it could use some help from the city and PC. in the past year, a few new shops opened up... an african food market and a new cleaner laundromat. i think LJ's old location is still available... not to mention mr lemon is right there as well. i can't wait for them to open!

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Decatur Square used to have a large statue of Stephen Decatur in it, on a horse or something, and there has been a lot of movement towards remaking the square, and putting the statue back into it. I have no idea what the status of it is...

But the designs for it were quite nice, exactly what a little neighborhood square should look like.

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According to the official history of Citizens, the bank opened in 1828 in Hoyle Square as the High Street Bank since it was actually on High Street (coincidentally, large banks in the UK are called "High Street banks" generically). It further suggests that Hoyle Square and Canonicus Square are the same.

Here are a couple relevant passages from the document:

In 1828, the High Street Bank opened its doors in Hoyle Square. Named after the very popular Hoyle Tavern, the Square was at that time the liveliest intersection of the city for travelers coming to Providence from nearby farms and manufacturing towns. The High Street Bank was chartered as a commercial bank and took its name from its location, which consisted of two rooms of a residence on High Street.

...

At the end of its first 50 years, which were marked by a period of slow growth for the Hoyle Square neighborhood and for the bank itself, Citizens Savings Bank constructed a new building to serve as its headquarters. Built on the site of the famous Hoyle Tavern, which was torn down in 1890, the building remains a busy Citizens branch today.

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