gregw

Just went by the former Downcity Diner location. The ground is all level. Looks like surface parking.

You can see that there was a vehicle entrance in the middle of the facade under the street number. Check out the rounded cone shaped guards at the lower part on either side. Could this have once been a firehouse? Or a carriage house for a now gone mansion possibly on the site of Whole Foods?

Can we expect more of these 'name that location' shots? Also de we get prizes?

You're into overhead walkways. The first is the (gorgeous copper one!) Foundry on Holden St., the second is Eagle St., and I'll give someone else a chane to say what the third one is cause I'm stumped. Edit: I figured out where the 3rd one is but will give someone else a chance.

Bono's an Irish citizen. This explains how he qualifies for a knighthood. Apparently he won't be Sir Bono.

I saw the huge column of smoke around 8:20 this morning. It appeared all of a sudden and it was impossible to tell how far away it was. I actually called 911.

We bought in late 98 before the market went crazy and when a house west of Hope St. was easily 100K cheaper than one east of Hope and you could not spend over 200. I used to feel envious of our neighbors who bought in the mid 90s and paid under 100 for a house! Imagine that, a nice bungalow for $85,000! With the commercial spaces on Camp, someone who has lived off Camp St. for years and years told me that the space where Camp St. Ministries now is was once an A&P market. The other shops were all mom and pops of one sort or another. There's still a barber shop Glad to hear the shootings are dying down. When most US cities--even NYC--are seeing increases in violent crime now, Providence seems so far to be going against the trend. Let's hope that continues.

I live near Camp St. and like the neighborhood as well and I have also been pissed off over the years by the attitude that it's a "ghetto" to be avoided at all costs. On the other hand, it was because of that attitude, I am sure, that my wife and I were able to afford our house, which is a half block away from Camp St., although the northern end of it where it becomes more middle-class with single-family homes. One thing that amazes me as a longtime Providence person is how integrated Camp Street and blocks to the west of it have gotten. Back in the 70s, you would pretty much only see people who were African-American. Incredibly segregated, influence of housing discrimination, red-lining, etc. Now you see a mix of African-Americans, whites, Latinos, as well as a mix of incomes. Despite the good, the neighborhood could use more retail. The fact that most of the storefronts are occupied by a police substation and social service agencies/non-profits shows the challenges the neighorhood faces. There is also a wave of violence between the East Side and the South Side gangs that has left several young people dead from drive-by shootings. No one even knows what started this pointless feud. On the bright side, the Providence Police are on top of it with their Gang Unit and neighborhood policing and that might help to stop it. People are often surprised to find poverty on the East Side. But the East Side isn't monolithic. It's a bunch of different neighborhoods. Fox Point is also traditionally a working class area with pockets of poverty (Ives Street). The East Side isn't Greenwich, CT. It's more like a mini Manhattan with neighborhoods running from the Upper East Side to Harlem and the Lower East Side.

With auto insurance you need to look not only who has the lowest premiums but also the level of customer satisfaction. You could save $50 a year and then when you have a claim you could find yourself getting nickled and dimed. This could easlily cancel out any savings and create a ton of stress. I'm pretty sure Consumer Reports does ratings for auto insurance.

It was School One which used to be in the building where the Complex is. I went there after being at Hope for several years. ALP, which was just shut down, used to be on Elmwood Ave near where it intersects with Reservoir.

The Burger King that looked like an old bank was at the corner of Dorrance and Westminster where Dress Barn is now. I used to go to school on Pine Street and spent many an hour there before catching the Elmgrove Tunnel bus to go back home. Yep, there used to be a Strawberry's in the Travelers Aid bldg that was knocked down. Bought my Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Kurtis Blow LPs there.

Thanks for the trees! It wasn't hard to find interested people on my street although there are always the few who have no use for trees for whatever reason. Oh well...

Here's a nice harbinger of spring in the dead of winter. The city forester just spray painted the locations where a bunch of new trees are going to be planted this spring on my street, including two in front of my house.