Providence Neighborhood Profiles

West Broadway

Although it is not officially recognized by Providence as one of the 25 neighborhood areas, the residents of West Broadway consider their neighborhood to be bounded by Route 10 to the west, Union and Cranston Streets to the south, Bridgham and Knight Streets to the east, and Broadway to the north. Technically, West Broadway straddles Federal Hill and the West End across the western end of Westminster Street. The heart of West Broadway is the Broadway-Armory Historic District which has two focal points, Broadway itself and the area around the Cranston Street Armory and the Dexter Training Ground, which together contain some of the city's most elegant residential architecture.

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the West Broadway area remained a large, undeveloped hinterland sparsely populated by a few farms along what is now Westminster and Cranston Streets. Beginning in the early 1800s, however, industry and population growth began in earnest, with development most concentrated along Westminster Street. In 1824, Ebenezer Knight Dexter, a wealthy merchant, willed his 10-acre farm to the city of Providence and specified that the land be used for military training. Rhode Island regiments camped and trained on these grounds during the Civil War. In the late 1880s the grounds were used for recreational purposes and in 1893 they became part of the Providence parks system.

Broadway was first constructed in 1834, from Sabin Street, downtown, to Dean Street, and was later extended to provide access to the burgeoning manufacturing center near Olneyville Square. In 1854, Broadway was widened to 80 feet, at which time it became the widest street in the city and thus attracted a number of wealthy merchants and professional people who constructed Victorian mansions along the boulevard.

Settlement of the West Broadway area continued to accelerate following the Civil War. In 1865, the first street car line in Providence began service along Westminster Street, making travel from West Broadway to downcity Providence quick and convenient. Many of Providence's middle-class families had taken advantage of West Broadway's new proximity to the city's business center. By the 1870s, West Broadway had become a stylish "streetcar suburb" for the Yankee middle-class. The side streets were predominantly occupied by Irish working-class residents, many of whom were attracted to the area by its proximity to the mills in Olneyville.

Unlike most of Federal Hill, West Broadway experienced little influx of Italian immigrants between 1885 and the 1930s. After World War II, however, many second generation Italo-Americans purchased some of the old mansions along Broadway and began to settle in the neighborhood. While many of the original mansions along Broadway remain today, many were converted into professional offices.

In June of 1974, the National Park Service entered the "Broadway-Armory Historic District" into the National Register of Historic Places. Its status as an historically preserved area now protects large sections of West Broadway from any development activity that would threaten the character of the neighborhood. This designation, along with the neighborhood's distinctive housing stock served as a catalyst for the area's revitalization.

The Providence Preservation Society's Revolving Loan Fund has assisted the rehabilitation of several properties in the neighborhood since 1980 and has provided technical assistance on historic renovations to many newcomers to the neighborhood. An active community group, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, also works to preserve the neighborhood's historic character by overseeing development along residential streets and the Broadway and Westminster Street commercial and retail corridors.

According to the 1990 census, 8,704 persons resided in the West Broadway neighborhood. More than half of the residents were white (55.8%), 27.1 percent were Hispanic, 21.7 percent black, 7.3 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders, and 1.9 percent were Native Americans. One in four residents in 1990 was foreign born. About half of all persons aged 25 or older in 1990 were high school graduates.

Median family income in 1989 in West Broadway was $18,164, about one-third lower than the citywide median. One in three (31.1%) persons had an income below the poverty level in 1989; half of all children, one in four families, and more than one in five elderly persons were also poor in 1989.

Three out of four housing units in 1990 were renter-occupied. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 1990 was $97,470, about 12 percent lower than the citywide median. The median rent in 1990 was $352, which was about 25 percent lower than the citywide median rent.