Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The population within the city limits is estimated to be 176,862 as of 2005, and is the anchor of the 35th largest metropolitan population in the country, with an estimated MSA population of 1,622,520, exceeding that of Rhode Island by about 60%.

Various renowned institutions of higher education are based in Providence, such as Johnson and Wales University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Brown University.

The city is located in Providence County and is the second-largest city in New England. Providence was once nicknamed the "Beehive of Industry" and, since the 1990s, "The Renaissance City," though as of 2000 census, its poverty rate was still among the ten highest for cities over 100,000.

Providence was founded in June 1636 by Roger Williams on land ceded by the Narragansett Native Americans. The settlement was named by Williams in honor of "God's merciful Providence" in his finding this spot to settle when expelled by the Puritans from Massachusetts. It served as the capital of the Colony of Providence until 1663, when it was merged into the colony of Rhode Island; Providence has remained the capital or a co-capital of the colony after statehood in 1776. The official name of the state includes the name of the city, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The city was one of the first cities to industrialize in the United States and was noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. The city was chartered in 1831 and grew due to the influx of foreign immigrants. Much of the downtown was flooded by the New England Hurricane of 1938. In the mid-20th century the decline of industry caused the population of the city to fall by nearly 40% and caused a dramatic increase in the power of organized crime in the city. In the 1970s it began a renaissance of investment and rebuilding that increased property values and improved the overall quality of the city. Today, Providence is the economic, cultural, and political hub of Rhode Island.

www.providenceri.com/

en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Providence_RI