Providence: Fun-Sized and Flaming
Never ask a Rhode Islander for directions. When you live in a state that at its widest can be crossed in under an hour, the concept of scale is...hazy. Tell someone from Providence you trekked from the Roger Williams National Memorial to the Italian food smorgasbord on
Yet Providence is made for walking. Not only is it smallishly sized, arboreal, and the exact opposite of claustrophobic - it is also beautiful.
Busy Bees
One of the first industrialized American cities, Providence was "the Beehive of Industry." Its port on Narragansett Bay was bumper-to-bumper with maritime traffic and its mills ran at a continual whir. Money poured in, and the populace spent lavishly on homes, prestige-name department stores and the fabulous Rhode Island State House.
When the country came to a crushing halt during the Depression, benign neglect took over. Too poor to tear anything down, the city left its showcase architecture derelict. When fortunes switched again the 1970s, renovators had their pick of the litter. Today, a walk though the thriving downtown district along the "Three W's" (Washington, Westminster, and Weybosset Streets) reveals a finial-flourished timewarp to Gilded Age America, with organic caf�s and patisseries thrown in.
River of Fire
I buzzed the Beehive for a signature draw: WaterFire.
It is hard to avoid water in Rhode Island - the state clings to Narragansett Bay and Providence tiptoes around four rivers. Founded where the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers form the Providence River, with the Seekonk joining nearer the bay, it is little wonder the city was a milling powerhouse. But with the passing of the industry, the city came to regard its waterways as something to bridge over if not cover over.
In 1994, the city rediscovered its riparian heritage by opening Waterplace Park and the Riverwalk, two urban greenspaces embracing the rivers that made the city great. Along the way, a novel element was added: braziers in midstream.
From May to November, the Woonasquatucket, Moshassuck, and Providence blaze with fire come sundown. Bonfires seemingly float over the water, and WaterFire nights become block parties that are a tour-de-force of Providencian pinnacles. Music booms, gondolas glide and crowds surge through a mosaic of cultural exhibitions including Chinese calligraphy lessons under the auspices of the Confucian Institute), food stalls and displays from the burgeoning local art scene and the famous Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, and pronounced "riz-dee"). Most people, however, are content to snuggle with a date and admire the pyrotechnics.
Historical Charm
Attend one WaterFire, hit all the exhibits, and presto! - you've got a Providence itinerary. While walking is a perfectly good way to get around (no matter what the natives say), the fact remains that, like Rome, Providence was built on seven hills - Christian, College, Constitution, Federal, Tockwotten, Smith, and the now-leveled Weybosset - so get good shoes. And a good starting point.
Few hotels have a pedigree like the Providence Biltmore, and being in the center of Downtown, few have a better location. Opened in 1922, the towering icon weathered Prohibition, the mafia and the legendary 1938 hurricane that swamped the city (check out the water marker near check-in). Restored to its dignified stateliness, the hotel is now the swanky address of the capital.
Go, Team!
Across the Providence River from the Biltmore stands College Hill, site of the RISD campus. A renowned institution for the visual arts - "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane is an alum - anyone who pays even the remotest attention to college sports will know the school for its basketball team, the Balls, and its hockey team, the Nads ("Go, Nads!"). The unofficial mascot is Scrotie the Scrotum. And that's the honest truth. One can only imagine what happens when the Nads face off against their traditional rivals, the Gansett Clams.
Once I got my head around all that (ahem), I checked out the somewhat less suggestive halls of the RISD Museum and the Athenaeum. Both run along on the famous Benefit Street, immortalized in "The Shunned House," a novella by favorite son H.P. Lovecraft.
Considering how rowdy the RISD student body gets, the museum's tranquility is almost jarring. Then again, how can one not be tranquil before the largest wooden Japanese Buddha in the U.S.? Being a reliquary for the school, the collection is exhaustive, spanning the first stirrings of art from Greece and China to the modern day.
The rush of years is as tangible in the Athenaeum. With its wrought-iron railings, leather-bound reading rooms and floor to ceiling collection, it gives the feeling you could stumble upon Sherlock Holmes researching a case. Far from antique, the space is to Providence's intellectuals what salons were 200 years ago, actively drawing in the best and brightest to debate the issues of the day.
The Perfect Fit
After pre-gaming at Faust (the best beer hall in town), I headed to one of the traditional launching pads for a gay night out in Providence, The Alley Cat. Providence has no gay district, but sticking to Downtown puts everything within easy reach.
So what does it for you? - because Providence is as gay-friendly as it is gay-diverse. The Alley Cat and The Stable start things off before the boys head over to the dance floors at the Dark Lady (drink and drag), Eagle (got a fetish?), Ego (boy, are they pretty), and Mirabar (for the low-key kinda guy). If you are lucky, you'll get a drink courtesy of Haley Star herself, Providence's very own self-proclaimed "glambassador."
But a word of warning: Anybody delving into Providence's homosphere should remember this: With six colleges in the city, it's going to be a young crowd. Even the leather-and-Levis gang at the Eagle tends to mix the cubs with the bears.
So just accept that silver foxes aren't a big part of the gay vernacular here. But there are plenty of people, places and activities to keep you on fire.
Getting There
Providence is a major stop on Amtrak and Greyhound. Green Airport is serviced by all major U.S. airlines except American.
Consult the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau at goprovidence.com for your trip.