Lower South Providence (Providence, Rhode Island)

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In 1754, all of Lower South Providence was ceded to form part of the new town of Cranston. Cranston ceded the South Providence and Washington Park sections back to the city of Providence in 1868.

While many feel that "South Providence" is a cohesive whole made up of Upper and Lower South Providence, Lower South Providence is markedly different in that it does not have nearly as many institutional uses as Upper South Providence. The development and expansion of the first horse drawn street railway line in 1865 helped transform Lower South Providence from farmland to Providence's first major streetcar suburb. Ocean Street became a major thoroughfare, lined with small single family cottages in the 1860s and early 1870s. By 1879, both Prairie Avenue and Broad Street were the sites of intensive development.

The effects of industrialization and immigration contributed to a tremendous population increase. Between 1860 and 1880 the population of Providence doubled and Lower South Providence became a vital community with rows of substantial new houses built closely together. By 1868, the Irish settlement, which had concentrated in Upper South Providence, had expanded into Lower South Providence. As the Irish community grew during, so did industry. Lower South Providence was important in that it was very close to Narragansett Bay and freight rail lines via the Port of Providence. Various metal products and jewelry factories such as the loft-type businesses on Thurbers Avenue sprung up in residential neighborhoods.

In 1879, the first horse car line opened on Broad Street making the nearby land more valuable and expensive. This resulted in more construction of middle and upper class single family housing in the 1870s and 1880s. When the trolley line was electrified in 1892, it meant faster transportation, encouraging middle class homeowners to move and settle to newly developing areas south of Chester Avenue. Along some of the newer roads, developers began to build rows of similar closely spaced one and a half story cottages, such as those on Reynolds and Potters Avenues, while other streets such as Lillian Avenue were lined with houses that were more individually designed. By 1900, streetcar lines made it easy to get downtown, industry provided jobs, and there was an adequate supply of affordable housing.

Immigration, industrialization, and speculative development culminated between 1900 and 1950. The Irish community remained dominant, but by the 1950s, many were entering the second and third generation and becoming more prosperous. A significant number of Irish were starting to move into the newer suburbs of Washington Park in Providence, Edgewood in Cranston, and the City of Warwick. After 1950, the rise in the popularity of the automobile further intensified suburbanization.

This outmigration, in turn, led to an increase in the supply of cheap, poorly maintained rental housing. Lower South Providence was subject to heavy speculative home purchases during the 1980s. Consequently, property values have fallen and building conditions have declined for the increasing number of poor tenants. The problem of property abandonment has left Lower South Providence with numerous vacant lots and buildings.

An indicator of the growing poor population was the construction of the Roger Williams Housing Project in 1943. During its first 15 years, the project was considered a success. Gradually, the Roger Williams Housing Project became blighted and by 1970, all but one of the buildings had been abandoned. In 1991, all but two of the buildings were demolished in preparation for a townhouse style apartment complex being constructed for low- and moderate-income families.

The construction of Interstate 95 not only required the demolition of several buildings, but it also physically separated Lower South Providence from the rest of the city and consequently destroyed its historical relationships with downtown and the waterfront. This isolation accelerated the deterioration of the neighborhood. Lower South Providence became the refuge for poor minorities displaced from other areas of the city. The containment of the growing visible blight in a concentrated area made South Providence's problems less urgent to the rest of the city.

As of 1990, over half (54.1%) of Lower South Providence's residents were African-American, one in three was Hispanics, and roughly one in five was white. Four percent was Asian, and another 3.3 percent were Native American. More than four in ten residents did not speak fluent English, and less than half of the population under the age of 25 had completed high school. Unemployment was 20 percent compared with the city-wide average of 9.2 percent. Roughly one in three jobs were in manufacturing and another one in three were in professional services, accounting for the largest share of jobs.

Median family income was $18,867, and 30.1% of families lived below the poverty line.

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