Providence Neighborhood Profiles

Reservoir

The area known as the Reservoir Triangle is primarily a residential neighborhood located in the southwestern quadrant of Providence, bounded by the city of Cranston on the west, Narragansett Avenue to the east, and Sinclair Avenue to the south.

The first residents of the Reservoir Triangle were the Narragansett Indians who had a village on the shores of Mashapaug Pond, most likely near the pond outlet behind where the Jewel Case warehouse is now located. This area was part of Roger Williams' original purchase from the Narragansetts in 1636. During the War of 1812, Mashapaug Pond was the western terminus of a line of entrenchment set up from Field's Point across the southern end of Providence in case of attack by a land force. During the last part of the 19th century, Mashapaug Pond was the scene of numerous society parties. The area remained mostly undeveloped farmland until the mid-19th century when new roads were established, including Reservoir Avenue and Elmwood Avenue, which provided access to downtown Providence.

Some of the earliest known industries in the area included a 600-spindle cotton mill established in the early 1800s and a massive ice-making operation on the north shore of Mashapaug Pond founded as early as 1820. The industry that was most influential in the development of this area was the Gorham Manufacturing Company on Adelaide Avenue, built in 1889. Many of the skilled silversmiths and jewelry specialists employed by Gorham built houses between Reservoir Avenue and Mashapaug Pond, making it a thriving residential neighborhood. The other side of Reservoir Avenue, the east side, did not see development until the start of the 20th century.

When Cranston was in the process of establishing itself in 1767, the Reservoir section of Providence was annexed along with South Providence, South Elmwood, and parts of Elmwood and Washington Park. Between 1873 and 1892 in a series of political maneuvers to protect the Republican agrarian interests of Cranston, these sections were annexed back to Providence, which was already dominated by the Democratic Party in the 19th century.

In the 1870s, a reservoir was built at Sockanosset Crossroads in Cranston. It was the first great engineering project of the City of Providence. To be able to have water piped to one's house from this reservoir was the symbol of modernity. The reservoir became a catalyst for residential development in the area. Soon after its completion, a road was built which became a direct line of communication with the reservoir and one of the first highways out of town into the open countryside.

This road, appropriately named "Reservoir Avenue," was unique because it was not built over older paths. The avenue was laid out directly to its destination and was an example of a long straight road. Reservoir Avenue begins by branching from Elmwood Avenue at Columbus Circle, passes numerous governmental facilities and shopping malls, and eventually reaches the southern Rhode Island community of Charlestown, near Westerly and the Connecticut border.

During the late 1920s, a new reservoir was built with the damming of the Pawtuxet River to the west of the city in the town of Scituate. The old water supply in Sockanosset fell into disuse and was soon abandoned. Reservoir Avenue, however, remains the main thoroughfare for the residents of the Reservoir community.

Today, the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood is a stable community with relatively high owner occupancy rates. Buttressed by Mashapaug Pond and the large and currently vacant Gorham Manufacturing site to the northwest, and Roger Williams Park on the east, the residents have the ideal combination of being near suburban shopping centers, and recreational parks, as well as downtown Providence.

The 1990 census reported 2,622 residents living in the Reservoir neighborhood, a 2.9 percent decline from 1980. During the past decade the nonwhite population in Reservoir increased five-fold and the nonwhite share of the population increased from 3.6 percent in 1980 to 22.5 percent in 1990. In 1990, 10.4 percent of the population was Asian, 10.1 percent was African American, and 8.7 percent was Hispanic. About one in five residents was foreign born. Nearly three out of four residents of age 25 or older had completed requirements for a high school degree in 1990. Manufacturing and professional services were the major sources of employment for Reservoir residents in 1990, each accounting for about one-fifth of all jobs in 1990. The unemployment rate in Reservoir in 1990 was 5.2 percent, almost half of the citywide rate of 9.2 percent.

The median family income in Reservoir in 1989 was $34,007, 20 percent higher than the citywide median family income. Poverty declined in Reservoir across all demographic categories between 1980 and 1990. Overall, about one in ten (11.5%) persons was poor, less than one in ten (7.9%) families was living below poverty, one in five children (21.1%) were poor, and the proportion of elderly that were poor was 4.7 percent.

Reservoir continued to have one of the city's highest proportions of owner-occupied housing in 1990, although the proportion of owner-occupied housing units declined slightly between 1980 and 1990, falling from 62.7 percent in 1980 to 59.3 percent in 1990. Almost half of all housing units in Reservoir are located in single-family, detached units.

There are no housing units in buildings with five or more units. Almost three out of four housing units were built more than 40 years ago. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in Reservoir in 1990 was $102,200, 8 percent lower than the citywide median. The median rent in Reservoir was 7 percent higher than the citywide median. According to the 1990 census, more than four out of ten (43.3%) residents in Reservoir lived in their present housing units for more than 20 years.