OT - City of Providence, RI

[FASTEDDY]

As a champion of all things UCONN, state of Connecticut, and Hartford, it pains me to say that I was very very impressed with the city of Providence. I met my cousin there for Dinner, he's from Jersey and an RU alum who has been on a long-term assignment in Providence, and we walked around the city center, along the River, up the hill into RISD campus, all over Brown's campus, ans later into Federal Hill area etc. All I can say is WOW!Its a very nicely developed small city, lots of people around, endless array of restaurants - all seemingly busy.

The city just had a lot of nice little neigborhoods with cool architecture, cool restaurants / shops, a big BUSY mall downtown, lots of upper end business hotels, no dirtbags around. Providence did a GREAT job of connecting people and development to the river area and making it a focus area.

Federal Hill area was really nice. Its like Franklin Ave. but more compact, much nicer, no ghetto and dirtbag people around, very trendy etc. At nearly 11pm the area with the fountains was packed with people on a Tuesday! Lots of hotties, and trendy hip folks with a cool vibe.

I thought Hartford and Providence were essentially the same but its not the case. Hartford needs to get its act together, completely clean out the abandoned builings, extend developement outside the immediate city center, get the undesireables out of the area, make the river area a focal point, bring young upwarly mobile professionals into the city etc. It is well behind Providence right now in this regard.

I am interested in the thoughts and opinions of my fellow Boneyarders. Do you all agree with me? What can the city of Hartford realistically do catch up to Providence and make it an attractive city for business and residenmtial devlopement etc?

 

[Palatine]

Tax credits built it. Those aren't allowed in Connecticut. Malloy keeps them in his pocket and dispenses them at his pleasure.

 

[Kitaman]

Old saying: "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Providence 'the city' is a very nice day trip with the spouse to hang out for several hours for the reasons the OP stated. After a meal, I go to the waterfront and watch boats and smoke a stogie (while the wife walks).

Forget Hartford............... Bridgeport take note!

 

[8893]

New Haven has been studying the Providence renaissance model for years and has been developing along a similar plan, albeit on a smaller scale. I think it is a closer comparison to Providence than Hartford is. The problem with Hartford has always been that it lacks a pulse. People go home, and they don't come back into the city to go out. There is tons of development in New Haven and has been for several years. Yale is a big part of that, but the city has been fairly proactive as well.

 

[FASTEDDY]

New Haven has been studying the Providence renaissance model for years and has been developing along a similar plan, albeit on a smaller scale. I think it is a closer comparison to Providence than Hartford is. The problem with Hartford has always been that it lacks a pulse. People go home, and they don't come back into the city to go out. There is tons of development in New Haven and has been for several years. Yale is a big part of that, but the city has been fairly proactive as well.

Good to hear about New Haven. Where are the areas to go to?

what I know about New Haven is that there are a lot of dirtbags and big big crime. We walked for hours and I didn't see even one ghetto blaster around. All I hear about New Haven is the crime. It doesn;t entice me to go there and spend a day walking around and exploring the city for fear I will take a worng turn and wind up in the WRONG PLACE at the WRONG TIME.

I make the Hartford to Providence comparison b/c they are both capitals of their respective states and are Big East cities of similar size. Most people would consider them to be peers.

Fast

 

[husky99]

Providence is > by far then hartford...my wife lived in fall river (shitb hole), but we went regularly to providence and loved it

 

[8893]

Good to hear about New Haven. Where are the areas to go to?

what I know about New Haven is that there are a lot of dirtbags and big big crime. We walked for hours and I didn't see even one ghetto blaster around. All I hear about New Haven is the crime. It doesn;t entice me to go there and spend a day walking around and exploring the city for fear I will take a worng turn and wind up in the WRONG PLACE at the WRONG TIME.

I make the Hartford to Providence comparison b/c they are both capitals of their respective states and are Big East cities of similar size. Most people would consider them to be peers.

Fast

You are right that Hartford and Providence should be the comparison; my point is that Hartford will never get there. Never had a pulse, never will.

New Haven does not have the size of Providence, but it has a lot of great restaurants, bars, museums, a decent summer music festival, farmer's market, etc.

Check out Ninth Square for starters, but the whole area from there to Broadway is pretty nice and interesting imo.

 

[upstater]

Grew up in New Haven, lived in Providence for a few years. They are very similar. Back when I lived in Providence (late 90s), there was less going on there than in New Haven. I see the cities as having the exact same size, basically.

I love Providence, for the food and the access. the ethnic food there is great, Guatemalan, Mexican, Thai, Wes' ribs (Italian, unfortunately, is overhyped there). Great beaches within a quick drive, better than Hammonasset. Boston a 35 minute train ride. Pro sports nearby (Pawsox and Patriots and soccer).

But, I still think that giant mall they built can go very wrong. It's been empty whenever I've gone there.

There has been a lot of development. I stayed at the old Masonic Temple now a hotel last time I was there and they had a groovy bar in the vaulted basement. It's a neat town.

But I've seen it's downtime as well when Lulu's Heartbreak Hotel was the only thing going on downtown.

 

[Yonick]

Hartford was clearly better than Providence in the 80's. It was considered a boomtown. Black Friday in 1988 started the decline of Hartford and it's present management is nowhere as dynamic as those in the 80's. That's professionally & politically.
Still, it's skyline is much nicer than Providence. Museums are far better. Hartford's insurance base is better than Providence's costume jewelry base. And the restraurants are quite comparable.
And, even though Hartfords NHL team is gone, it's civic center seats 16K while Providence's civic center seats only 11.5K. So Hartford has it's positives, but New Haven is the buergeoning city of CT in the 2010 decade.

 

[Excalibur]

Providence did a nice job putting lipstick on a pig. Their economic issues remain, but the reconstruction of downtown has made it a nice area to visit and they've done a nice job of connecting the various neighborhoods with the downtown area. Aesthetically, the city is very nice. They still haven't attracted any working people to live in the city, and their job growth still sucks. What they do have are a bunch of colleges. Small cities in the northeast need colleges since nobody with a family wants to live in them. Brown, PC, RISD, J&W are all within the city limits, and all within walking distance of downtown attractions. Contrast that with Hartford which has Trinity separated from the rest of the city by one of the most dangerous neighborhoods anywhere, and the University of Hartford that isn't actually in f&$^ing Hartford. Even Worcester is in the process of a revitalization because of the presence of WPI, Clark and Holy Cross.

At this point, I think New Haven has surpassed Providence in terms of the quality of the local restaurants, but the city still looks like a dump.

 

[Deepster]

And, even though Hartfords NHL team is gone, it's civic center seats 16K while Providence's civic center seats only 11.5K. So Hartford has it's positives, but New Haven is the buergeoning city of CT in the 2010 decade.

It's a positive to have 4,500 more empty seats sitting there unused? Who goes to the Civic Center for anything anymore?

 

[alexrgct]

Hartford is a gigantic craphole.

Providence has:

• A nationally elite university, as well as a few other colleges.
• Some cool ethnic neighborhoods and architecture.
• Nice downtown area: Providence Place, restaurants, Firewater, etc.
• Some nice hotels

I've spent a couple days in Providence and had a good time.

New Haven pretty much sucks. It has the nationally elite U and some restuarants, but there is no 'hood like Federal Hill that I'd want to hang out in. I'll head down there for an evening once in a blue moon, but that's about it.

I like CT, but hate the larger towns/small cities like Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury. They're all scourges. I wouldn't live in Providence in a million years, but I don't feel that way about it. When you have Boston and NYC nearby, other urban areas are going to suffer.

 

[upstater]

Hartford is a gigantic craphole.

Providence has:

• A nationally elite university, as well as a few other colleges.
• Some cool ethnic neighborhoods and architecture.
• Nice downtown area: Providence Place, restaurants, Firewater, etc.
• Some nice hotels

I've spent a couple days in Providence and had a good time.

New Haven pretty much sucks. It has the nationally elite U and some restuarants, but there is no 'hood like Federal Hill that I'd want to hang out in. I'll head down there for an evening once in a blue moon, but that's about it.

I like CT, but hate the larger towns/small cities like Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury. They're all scourges. I wouldn't live in Providence in a million years, but I don't feel that way about it. When you have Boston and NYC nearby, other urban areas are going to suffer.

Federal Hill a nice neighborhood? About the only decent neighborhood outside the city is the one around Brown, and Wickenden. I would much rather hang out in, say, the State Street area of New Haven than fed Hill. I do like Providence better than New Haven, and I like Prov's restaurants better too, but I don't think Prov. brings as many people into town as New Haven does. It's emptier.

 

[Waquoit]

It's a positive to have 4,500 more empty seats sitting there unused? Who goes to the Civic Center for anything anymore?

Saw "The Wall" at the HCC just a couple of weeks ago. It was tremendous. Didn't see any empty seats. Also didn't see Providence listed on the tour's itinerary .

 

[Waquoit]

Hartford's version of Federal Hill is called West Hartford Center.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

But I've seen it's downtime as well when Lulu's Heartbreak Hotel was the only thing going on downtown.

Lupo's.

 

[upstater]

Lupo's.

Yah, it's been a while

 

[sledog]

Prov: Young Neal & the Vipers, or Roomfull of Blues at Lupos.

NH: Pepe's, and Sally's

 

[gioff23]

CT makes great towns and horrible cities. I think Providence is a good place to visit for a day or 2. What it has is several colleges downtown, period. There is no business there and most strorefronts are empty. In other words, unless you go to school there, work for a school, or grew up there, why would you live there? And what would you do were you not eating out everyday?

I would love if Hartford had more in the downtown area, but it doesn't. It doesn't mean it can't, it just needs more leadership - in government, in industry and in people committed to making cities interesting.

 

[Waquoit]

Hartford is a gigantic craphole.

Providence has:

...a bunch of Rhode Islanders. That fact alone makes Hartford better.

 

[Excalibur]

Prov: Young Neal & the Vipers, or Roomfull of Blues at Lupos.

NH: Pepe's, and Sally's

Anyone who limits NH to Pepe's and Sally's hasn't been there in a while.

 

[Dry Tortugas]

Providence has much better strip joints.

 

[Cheddie]

New Haven has been studying the Providence renaissance model for years and has been developing along a similar plan, albeit on a smaller scale. I think it is a closer comparison to Providence than Hartford is. The problem with Hartford has always been that it lacks a pulse. People go home, and they don't come back into the city to go out. There is tons of development in New Haven and has been for several years. Yale is a big part of that, but the city has been fairly proactive as well.

There seems to be a distinct difference between cities with resident colleges and those without. Students, faculty, visitors add lots of vibrancy to a town, with arts, sports, etc. As mentioned above, Brown and PC do make a difference in Providence.

A few comments about crime in New Haven. Can't judge the entire city, but the core downtown area on weekends is filled with young people going to clubs, people frequenting restaurants and others out and about, with lots of police (NH & Yale) presence. My wife is on a non-profit arts board and we visit often. Never felt unsafe.

Re: Malloy & Hartford - Hartford's problems are Hartford's problems, can't blame the Governor. State politicians have bent over backwards to help the city for decades. Gampel was purposely downsized so UConn would have to play games in the city to boost its economy. Hartford was even Rowland's pet project, with the stadium fiasco, Adrien's Landing, Convention Center, Science Center, etc.

 

[HeGotGame]

CT makes great towns and horrible cities. I think Providence is a good place to visit for a day or 2. What it has is several colleges downtown, period. There is no business there and most strorefronts are empty. In other words, unless you go to school there, work for a school, or grew up there, why would you live there? And what would you do were you not eating out everyday?

I would love if Hartford had more in the downtown area, but it doesn't. It doesn't mean it can't, it just needs more leadership - in government, in industry and in people committed to making cities interesting.

Yup. There are a ton of towns in CT I would live in when I am older with kids, but you couldn't pay me to live in either Hartford or Providence. Or Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven for that matter.

Providence is fine for what it is, a second tier city in New England.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Providence is fine for what it is, a second tier city in New England.

This must mean that Boston is the only tier one city in New England, because what other N.E. city would you put above Providence?