South Providence

The themes of South Providence–urbanization, immigration, and industrialization–best characterize the nation’s modern development. This volume reveals how a well-known Providence community worshipped, studied, worked, played, ate, and drank. The denizens of South Providence were an extraordinary mix. The geographic and demographic developments of the 19th century crafted the economically diverse, dense, and multicultural community of the 20th century. Today, almost every major avenue still contains a varied mixture of residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional uses with institutional development on the rise. The theme of this volume transcends South Providence and serves as the prototype of a 20th-century, inner-city ethnic neighborhood with variegated and successive waves of immigrant arrivals. Its focus is on their upward socioeconomic mobility, their social and cultural activities, and their religious traditions. Thirty-nine neighborhood residents have been inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. That group exceeds the number of inductees from any Rhode Island city or town, except, of course, Providence, of which this vibrant neighborhood is a part.