Providence, Rhode Island, is the coolest city in New England. I would even put it on the shortlist of coolest small cities in the United States. (It has about 170,000 people, with another million in the surrounding area.)
Like Rome, Providence congregates around seven hills. The two to keep in mind are Federal and College. Like many cities, it’s traversed by a river; unlike most, its river had been paved over by the world’s widest concrete bridge until the Nineties, when it was uncovered and brilliantly lit afire. More on that later.
Like few other cities, Providence gives tax incentives to artists not institutions. And unlike any other, it was founded by Roger Williams, one of the great iconoclasts of the 17th century. Williams was kicked out of Massachusetts Bay for daring to believe in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He founded Providence as a haven of tolerance.
Williams said, “When you do what you do best, you are not only helping yourself but the world.” What Providence does best today is create: art, food, architecture and faculties for critical thought, to name a few of its strengths. It is home to Brown University — the hippest Ivy League school, founded by an 18th-century slave trader, once home to Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame) – as well as six other colleges and universities including Rhode Island School of Design, perennially the number one art school in the US.
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