federal hill is just west of downtown and is the "little italy" of providence. it's similar to cleveland's little italy, if a bit larger. atwells avenue is the main drag today and loaded with restaurants. broadway is the other main street, full of old manufacturing titan mansions. it's a charming, yet still blue collar neighborhood.

 

 

here is a link to a nice & concise history of this neighborhood:

http://www.providenceri.com/Neighborhoods/fedhill.html

 

also, there is a 1994 movie about it too (that i could never sit thru - heh):

 

ok so let's do the pics:

 

the atwells ave pineapple gate welcomes visitors heading in from downtown

 

 

 

my providence friend says evryone ends up here after the neighborhood has "the stroll"

 

 

 

 

 

depasquale square is in the center of the atwells strip

 

 

 

 

west end of the atwells strip fittingly ends in a church

 

and in old industrial buildings

 

 

some typical federal hill housing

 

 

 

 

 

 

broadway is parallel to atwells & is the other main street in federal hill

 

 

 

 

 

wow!

 

 

 

***well not quite a rocket to mars, but federal hill is yet another great ethnic american nabe**

 

 

Very nice!, thanks.

Thanks for posting!  I like that pineapple gate.

The Pineapple represents hospitality doesn't it? I mean in general, I don't know anything of the gate.

^yes, there are a lot of pineapple references and motifs in homes in the seaside areas of the northeast. the history is that it was de riguer for ship captains to bring them home and give them out as a sign of hospitality. they must travel well over long ocean voyages, they seem like they would no? if you see them on old homes i think it means that they were ship captain homes when they were built. so its a welcome to the nabe type of symbolism i'd guess.