50 Fun Facts About Providence

Who founded Providence in 1636?

He was a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

What does the city's name honour?

Williams believed divine providence had revealed the haven to him.

Providence sits at the head of which bay?

The Providence River runs through the city into the bay.

What was Providence's population at the 2020 census?

It is the third-most populous city in New England.

Providence ranks where among New England's cities by population?

Only Boston and Worcester are larger.

Which two rivers meet to form the Providence River?

Williams's settlers moved up the Seekonk, around Fox Point and up the Providence River to the confluence.

From which colony was the founder banished for sedition and heresy?

He had argued for separating church and state and condemned land seizures from Native Americans.

Who burned Providence Plantations to the ground in March 1676?

It happened during King Philip's War.

In what year did Brown University move to Providence from Warren?

It was then called Rhode Island College and occupied one building on College Hill.

What was burned in the 1772 Gaspee Affair?

It predated the Boston Tea Party by more than a year.

On what date did Rhode Island renounce allegiance to the British Crown?

It was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to do so.

Rhode Island was which of the Thirteen States to ratify the US Constitution?

It signed on May 29, 1790, once a Bill of Rights was assured.

Providence passed the first anti-slavery law in the US in 1652 by limiting what?

There is no evidence the prohibition was ever enforced.

What did 1960s trade magazines call Providence?

Costume jewelry had become a dominant local industry.

Which disaster flooded downtown Providence in 1938?

Many struggling textile mills never reopened afterwards.

What was Providence's peak population in 1940?

It fell to 179,213 by 1970 as the middle class left for the suburbs.

Which formerly industrial area was rebranded the "Knowledge" quarter?

The shift aimed at life sciences and technology.

How many official neighbourhoods does Providence have?

They are often grouped into areas such as the East Side and North End.

Like Rome, Providence claims to be built on how many hills?

Many cities make the same seven-hills claim.

What is Providence's tallest structure?

The art deco Industrial National Bank Building stands 426 feet.

Which Providence landmark is the oldest enclosed shopping mall in the US?

It sits downtown near the historic Biltmore hotel.

What happened to the Russian sub that was a waterfront museum until 2008?

It had been moored on the southern waterfront.

What is the highest temperature ever recorded in Providence?

It was set on August 2, 1975.

Which Hispanic group forms the largest share of Providence's population?

The city's Dominican community is the fifth largest in the US.

Which neighbourhood is Providence's "Little Italy"?

Fox Point is Portuguese and Smith Hill Irish.

Which Fortune 500 conglomerate is headquartered in Providence?

Hasbro has operations in the city but its headquarters are in Pawtucket.

Which neighbouring city was toy maker Hasbro's longtime headquarters through the 2010s?

Hasbro was based in Pawtucket for decades before announcing a move to Boston; Hasbro Children's Hospital is part of the Rhode Island Hospital complex.

What is the summer art installation of roughly 100 bonfires on the rivers called?

It is accompanied by classical and world music.

Providence claims the most shops per capita of what, along with doughnut shops?

It is also said to have the most restaurants per capita of major US cities.

Which Tony Award-winning theatre troupe is based in Providence?

The city also hosts the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

What is the name of the city's multi-day outdoor arts festival?

It mixes live music, installations, craft markets and food vendors.

How tall is the granite statue of the founder in Prospect Terrace Park?

It gazes over the downtown skyline.

The State House dome is the world's fourth-largest self-supporting dome made of what?

It is second only to St. Peter's Basilica among marble domes.

Which congregation, founded by the city's founder in 1638, stands on the East Side?

The Old State House nearby served as the capitol from 1762 to 1904.

Where does the Providence Athenæum rank by age among US libraries?

Edgar Allan Poe courted Sarah Helen Whitman there.

Which horror writer was a regular patron of the Providence Athenæum?

Poe was another famous visitor.

What is the Big Blue Bug?

It is the mascot of a pest-control company.

Which AHL team plays at the Amica Mutual Pavilion?

The Reds played from 1926 to 1977 before moving to Binghamton.

Which NBA franchise called Providence home in the 1940s?

The NFL's Steam Roller had played there in the 1920s and 1930s.

Which boxer fought 29 of his 49 bouts at the Rhode Island Auditorium?

The venue also hosted the AHL Reds.

Who did the Providence Grays beat in baseball's first "world championship series" in 1884?

The Grays played in the National League from 1878 to 1885.

Which future legend finished the 1914 season with a minor-league Providence team?

The Red Sox sent him there after buying him from the Baltimore Orioles.

Providence was the first host of which ESPN event in 1995?

It was known in its first edition as the Extreme Games.

Which conference does Providence College belong to?

Brown is the city's other Division I school.

Which airport serves Providence?

It is in nearby Warwick.

What is the downtown transit hub where RIPTA buses converge?

More than 71,000 people pass through it daily.

Which company ran Providence's first bike-share before vandalism ended it in 2019?

Spin reintroduced bike sharing in 2021.

Which body of water supplies ninety percent of Providence's drinking water?

It lies about ten miles west of downtown.

Which Cape Verdean city became Providence's sister city in 1994?

Santo Domingo, Zhuhai, Guatemala City and Athlone followed.

Which project, begun in 2007, moved I-195 to reunite a cut-off district with downtown?

It was estimated to cost $610 million.