Providence Audio Tour: Echoes of Elegance on the East Side

Stops on this tour

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   Joseph and William Russell House

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   To spot the Joseph and William Russell House, look for a large, brick, cube-shaped building with an elegant doorway framed by columns, sitting above a row of shop windows right…Read moreShow less

   To spot the Joseph and William Russell House, look for a large, brick, cube-shaped building with an elegant doorway framed by columns, sitting above a row of shop windows right along North Main Street. Welcome to the Joseph and William Russell House! Now, take a moment to imagine you’re standing here back in 1772-horses clopping past, merchants unloading barrels, the clink of coins in the background. This stately brick home, with its sharp Georgian lines and that fancy Corinthian doorway, was once at the center of Providence’s bustling trade with England and the West Indies. Merchants Joseph and William Russell, brothers who knew a thing or two about ambition-and a good cup of imported tea-built this house as both a residence and a symbol of their rising fortunes. The big question of the day then was: “Who built this masterpiece?” History keeps that a bit mysterious, but rumors point to Joseph Brown, a name you’ll hear popping up as we stroll through College Hill. Meanwhile, Zephaniah Andrews, the bricklayer, left his fingerprints not only here but over at the Market House and the John Brown House. Now, let’s time-travel to a hot summer in 1781. As the American Revolution raged on, a French nobleman-François-Jean de Chastellux-slept under this very roof while making plans to join Washington’s army. Imagine hushed French whispers and the scratch of maps unfurling late at night. This house wasn’t just about balls and tea sets; it also helped hatch plans that turned the tide of a war! Years rolled by, and the house saw new faces-doctors like Amos Throop, future inventors like Zachariah Allen, and eventually shoppers and guests when it became the Clarendon Hotel. By the 1870s, the city decided North Main Street could use more elbow room-so they lifted the entire building one story higher and popped some shops underneath. Imagine that jarring sound-a house on the move! Today, the Russell House is a patchwork of old and new. Its parlor woodwork lives as far away as Brooklyn and Minneapolis, and under these walls, you’ll find shops, galleries, and even artists dreaming up the next chapter. This place isn’t just a rumble of bricks-it’s the echo of all those lives, secrets, and stories stacked on top of each other.

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   Rhode Island School of Design

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   Here we are, standing in front of one of Providence’s brightest beacons of creative energy-the Rhode Island School of Design, or as the cool kids call it, RISD, pronounced…Read moreShow less

   Here we are, standing in front of one of Providence’s brightest beacons of creative energy-the Rhode Island School of Design, or as the cool kids call it, RISD, pronounced “Riz-Dee.” Imagine the hum of youthful ambition, the scent of fresh canvas and clay, and the flutter of oversized sketchbooks. This is College Hill, but for more than a century, it’s been more like “Creative Hill”-and you’re right at the center of it all. Let’s rewind to 1876, when a woman named Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf saw the future in a place no one expected-the Women’s Pavilion at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Picture her moving through a busy hall, surrounded by the smell of machine oil and freshly cut wood, dazzled by the work of female inventors and designers. Most women in her time didn’t have a way into design. But Helen did what any artist would do-she used what she had. After fundraising, she convinced her peers to invest their leftover money-not in a statue, not in a new tea set, but in a school for design in Providence. On a chilly January day in 1877, they voted. And with the sound of the vote echoing in the committee room, RISD was born. RISD was always ahead of its time. From day one, it was coeducational and gave women a direct pathway into art and design, when most schools barely let them peek through the door. The very first class had 43 students-most of them women-packed into six rooms on the fourth floor of the Hoppin Homestead Building downtown. Talk about a bohemian start. But by 1893, RISD had a home-right here on College Hill, where you can still feel the buzz of possibility in the air. The school’s story is filled not just with easels and brushstrokes, but with activism. During the Vietnam War, you might have seen students working late into the night, painting bold protest banners, and creating art with messages more pointed than a freshly sharpened pencil. One famous piece, “Leave the Fear of Red to Horned Beasts,” became a symbol far outside Providence-its image even made it all the way into a museum in Vietnam. That bold, creative spirit has never left. Whether the picket lines of recent labor strikes or the vibrant calls for racial justice, RISD’s students and faculty aren’t just artists-they’re changemakers. In 2020, they formed the RISD Anti-Racism Coalition and demanded real change, from hiring more diverse faculty to returning looted art pieces. RISD isn’t just about protest; it’s also seriously top-tier. Until recently, it topped national rankings for art and design programs and even decided to drop out of the rankings, believing no number can truly measure creativity. Its proximity to Brown University means students here and there swap classrooms and ideas-and sometimes, it’s hard to tell where one campus ends and the other begins. And let’s not forget the fun side! RISD’s sports teams have the kind of, um… “ballsy” humor you won’t find anywhere else. The hockey team? The “Nads”-yes, as in “Go Nads!” The basketball team? Simply, “The Balls.” And then, there’s their not-so-subtle mascot, Scrotie. Just imagine a 7-foot-tall, anatomically-inaccurate, prancing mascot bringing pure confusion to their Ivy League neighbors. RISD’s alumni have gone on to reimagine everything from children’s books to Hollywood films, and even co-founded Airbnb. Talking Heads, the legendary band, started right here-maybe you can still feel the echo of their guitars on quiet nights. Elsewhere on campus, the RISD Museum houses more than 100,000 works of art-making it one of the largest college art museums in the country. It’s a place where you might find ancient Egyptian mummies and cutting-edge video installations side by side. So take in the sights, the sounds, maybe even a gust of creative wind as it blows past you. RISD isn’t just an art school-it's a living, breathing canvas, splashed with more than 140 years of color, courage, and a little bit of mischief. And who knows? That creative spark in the air-it might be catching. Ready to delve deeper into the rankings and admission, campus or the risd museum? Join me in the chat section for an enriching discussion.

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   East Side Trolley Tunnel

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   Look straight ahead for a tunnel with a white concrete entrance set into the hill, framed by buildings on either side and marked with big "BUSES ONLY" warnings painted across the…Read moreShow less

   Look straight ahead for a tunnel with a white concrete entrance set into the hill, framed by buildings on either side and marked with big "BUSES ONLY" warnings painted across the red pavement. Welcome to the mysterious and mighty East Side Trolley Tunnel! Now, take a deep breath-imagine it's the year 1914. You're right here, where the rush of city streets sputters out and the cool darkness of the tunnel begins. Back in those early days, the sounds of clang-clanging trolleys echoed through this very passage, as commuters avoided the knee-burning 10% grade of College Hill looming up above you. This tunnel was a real-life cheat code for anyone tired of climbing the seemingly endless hill where Brown University rests! At over 2,100 feet long, the tunnel runs like a secret artery beneath College Hill, its east mouth spilling out right here on Thayer Street-the very heart of student life and late-night eats. On the other end, it opens up under the watchful eyes of the Rhode Island School of Design, whose Waterman Building sits directly above the western portal. Imagine the nerves of those 1910s construction workers as they dug right under a beloved art school, bracing structures overhead and hoping nothing would tumble down! I wonder if anyone painted a nervous self-portrait during that time... The tunnel’s been a shape-shifter since day one: first for trolleys, then trackless trollies, and since 1948, it’s been the domain of buses only. It’s said the East Side Trolley Tunnel offered North America its very first “bus rapid transit” link-way before “BRT” was cool or anyone wore neon safety vests unironically! Today, about 4,500 people a day travel through, far away from rush hour’s honking chaos. But shhh-here’s a little secret: Despite those forbidding signs, local legends abound of inventive skateboarding sprints and the occasional delivery daredevil who couldn’t resist shooting the tunnel at top speed! Just don’t let the cops catch you, or you’ll pay more than a fare. Senators have toured it, artists have built above it, and regular folks have zipped through it for over a century. So when you look into that tunnel, you’re peering into a living piece of Providence’s pulse-a shortcut carved by sweat, wit, and a healthy disdain for walking up hills in fancy shoes.

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