The 17 properties on this tour were built from 1831 to 1979. Click on a map marker to see the property name, then click the name to see more. Or, scroll down to see a gallery of all properties. Click any photo to learn more.
Providence’s West Side is anything but homogeneous, and the three tours originally included in the West Side Development chapter in the 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture (Federal Hill, Broadway, and Armory District to Westminster Street) vividly illustrate the great variety of building types, forms, and styles found in three proximate but remarkably distinct neighborhoods. The scale of the streets and the relationship of the buildings to the street give each neighborhood its distinct character and sense of place. Each is strongly individual, and the visitor to each will immediately sense the neighborhood’s character. As with most of the city’s neighborhoods, there will be the sense that none of these could be found anywhere else but in Providence.
Federal Hill introduces the West Side with a wallop. The center of Rhode Island’s Italo-American community for more than a century, it is now the hottest restaurant scene in the city. It retains heavy doses of traditional culture cheek by jowl with the trendiest spots for eating and drinking. No visitor to Providence should miss Federal Hill, which is compelling urbanistically as it is culinarily.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
