Elmwood Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island l 2011
Collaboration Ron Henderson, Kate Dana, Tanya Kelley; CommunityWorks Rhode Island; Elmwood Neighborhood Association; McMahon Associates
Recognition ASLA-RI Special Recognition Award; Antoinette Downing Fund from the National Trust for Historic Preservation; United Way
Trees (150+)
Streets are the largest public space in our cities.
The study consists of analysis and recommendations for the enhancement of Elmwood Avenue in Providence, RI. Community input, traffic studies, historic reflection and observation shaped our recommendations’ ambition: To enhance the public safety, accessibility, and the environmental beauty of historic Elmwood Avenue so that the street can again fulfill its’ role as the neighborhood “Main Street.”
Elmwood Avenue is part of US Highway 1, the historic federal route that extends from Maine to Florida and which has been superseded by Interstate 95. Due to the status of the street as a federal highway, the maintenance and engineering of Elmwood Avenue is the responsibility of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT).
Elmwood Avenue was among the first of the Providence’s streets along which streetcars traveled. It was an elegant elm-lined street with broad sidewalks and a gracious public realm that connected downtown Providence at Trinity Square to the City’s pre-eminent public space, Roger Williams Park in the south. It was also an early center of automobile culture in the city with showrooms and service stations clustered near Columbus Square. The current configuration of the street largely dates from the late 1930’s when the electric trolleys were replaced, the street widened, and the elms — the tree that gave the neighborhood and street its name were removed. The southern end of the street was modified for the construction of Interstate Highway 95 in the early 1960’s, which also cut the neighborhood off from Roger Williams Park. The Study Area for this Report comprises the full length of Elmwood Avenue in Providence from Trinity Square in the north to Roger Williams Park in the south.
