If you were not able to attend the Summit Neighborhood Association annual meeting, Col. Dean Esserman spoke and gave an inspiring talk about the value of a neighborhood crime watch, the support of the Providence Police Department, and the benefit of community strengthening that a crime watch brings.

          The past couple of meetings (unlike the first meetings) were attended by many people so many more of us are recognizing the importance of this and are willing to work to make it happen. At the SNA meeting, Col. Esserman mentioned that he was glad we currently don’t have a crisis to bring us all together; perhaps a strong crime watch program can assist in keeping it that way (or even better—less crime than we do have).

Please call Monica Anderson @ 401-793-2120or e-mail Manderson@lifespan.org for more information.

Summit Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting

February 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM 

At Summit Commons 99 Hillside Avenue

•  Introduction of Government Officials and Recognition of 2009 Board

•  Review of 2009

•  Introduction and Election of 2010 Board and Officers 

                                        Speakers:

*   Henry Bowen Anthony Fountain,  Robert F. McMahon, Superintendent   

*  North Main Street Project Committee Update 

 Additional information from Peter Gill Case and Jordan Durham

*  Update on Miriam’s Hospital Institutional Master Plan

*  Information about the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, Lorenzo Perry, Youth Coordinator

*  Upcoming Summit Neighborhood Association Events

*  Hope Street Merchants Association–Nanda Head

*  Neighborhood Crime Lt Schiavulli, Detectives, Colonel Esserman 

* Discussion of Crime Watch Program with Monica Anderson.  

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 By Philip Marcelo

The $180,000 project, which will be put out to bid in late February, calls for installing new plumbing, lighting and a water recirculation and filtration system. The fountain has been in disuse since 1982, when the city shut off its water due to rising operating costs, according to city Parks Supt. Robert McMahon.

“We have to assume after 28 years that some of the existing brass and copper piping within the granite fountain structure is deficient … The piping itself is not a significant cost, but the process of dismantling the fountain and putting it back together will be expensive,” he said.

Designed in a modern style by the Providence firm Jackson, Robertson & Adams, the fountain is the centerpiece of Lippitt Park, where Hope Street meets Blackstone Boulevard, near the Pawtucket city line.

It was erected in 1940 in memory of the late Henry Bowen Anthony, a U.S. senator (1859 to 1884), Rhode Island governor (1849-1851), and publisher of The Providence Journal. He died in 1884 at 69.

When it is operational in June, the fountain will join three other public outdoor fountains in Providence: the Bajnotti fountain in Burnside Park (Kennedy Plaza), the DePasquale fountain in DePasquale Plaza (Atwells Avenue) and the Clements fountain in Jacqueline Clements Park (Friendship and Dudley streets).

pmarcelo@projo.com

10% off on all items in the store except for home interior services. This discount will be offered from December 1st until December 15th 2009. To receive this discount please bring in one (or more than one) clean paper bag (shopping bag with handle) without a business logo. We noticed that a lot of people still throw out paper bags. They can absolutely be reused and we would love to take them.

Kreatelier is an innovative textile product design studio dedicated to offering colorful, functional, environmentally aware, European-inspired design. Kreatelier’s cheerful, durable line of textile goods includes accessories, car organizers, reusable gift wraps, quilts, bags, pencil cases and much more.

804 Hope Street, Providence RI 02906~ 401-432-7995
KREATELIER’S STORE is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am until 6pm

There will be holiday sales and specials at the shops and restaurants as well as refreshments and entertainment.  Santa will be at Love Bugs from 1-3.

Lt. Governor Roberts and Mayor Cicilline will be stopping by and there will be a trolley running from Hope Street to downcity for the City tree lighting event.
 
For more information contact Nanda at 401-429-6012.

Ray Watson, Greg Gerritt and David Kolsky find their bearings on an insurance map from the early 20th century. Sue Korté (left) provided the maps.

About 20 neighbors took part in our “Where the East Side Used to Be” History NIght on Tuesday, November 23 at Church of the Redeemer. This neighborhood history event was organized in partnership with the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association to give everyone a chance to share their own stories about the past of our neighborhood. After looking at maps from the 1900s and 1950s, we made a short list of vanished stores, restaurants and schools. We agreed to continue exploring the past by seeking knowledge, photos and other records of the past from our neighbors with more events and projects in 2010.

We focused mainly on the area between North Main Street or the Moshassuck River on the west to Hope Street on the east and from Olney Street north to Pawtucket. About 20 people attended. The first joint History Night was held in September of 2008 and focused on the history of North Main Street, including the Providence Steamroller football team, (1928 National Football League champions!) which held games on the site of the present Shaw’s Plaza.

Maps and images

After introductions, we got up to inspect two sets of maps on display. One set of photocopies of Sanborn insurance maps from 1957, showed what the neighborhood looked like about the time it first reached full “build out” (all land developed) but before major projects like University Heights, Route 95 and Miriam Hospital expansion occurred. We also had a few images of buildings from the Historical Society collection and Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association.

Another collection of original, full-size color insurance maps, brought by Susan Korté, showed different sections of the neighborhood from sometime prior to 1920, perhaps as early as the 1890s. These maps showed some very interesting “used to be” sites:

• · A reservoir on the site of Hope High (Hope Street High was across the street).
• · The Metcalf Botanical Gardens at the site of Brown’s Alumni Stadium.
• · Brown’s sports field taking up several blocks between Camp and Ivy Street.
• · Open space north of Rochambeau between Summit and North Main.
• · More undeveloped land from Top Street to Hope where Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Streets are today.
• · Many more neighborhood schools, all named for streets: Montague Street, Doyle Avenue, Camp Street, Rochambeau Avenue and Summit Avenue.
• · A surprising number of greenhouses.

Attendees were invited to share recollections of businesses, schools and neighborhood groups by adding Post-it notes to the maps. Here were some of the places we could remember:

Camp Street Businesses: Miss Garr’s, Al the Barber, Biller’s Supermarket, Izzy’s Drug, Kay’s Launderette, Forrest Drug Store (corner of Forrest) and “some shoe store.”

Hope Street Businesses: Lad & Lassie Shoes, A&P Grocery at Fourth Street (current RI Festival Ballet), the Hope Street Theater (later Cinerama, now the CVS), Al Abelson Restaurant, Skipper’s Restaurant, a 5&10 Cent store on Rochambeau close to Hope, and another on Hope near the north end of Lippitt Park. Delise’s Grocery across from [Lippitt Park?]

Schools: Summit Avenue School, Nathan Bishop Middle, RI School for the Deaf, Hope High, the Montague Street School (later Mt. Hope Daycare, now YMCA Daycare)), St. Raymond’s School

After lively informal small-group discussions prompted by the maps, we collected to talk about how to gather, share and preserve more knowledge of the past.

What do we want to know about our history?

• Schools in our neighborhood.
• Immigration
• Professions and livelihoods
• History of businesses: Hope Street businesses
• Who has lived in my house?
• What was the role of farming, food growing and greenhouses here?
• How have we changed this place over time? Have we changed it for better or worse?
• Transportation: the College Hill trolly/bus tunnel, trolley lines on North Main, Hope and Blackstone
• Race relations and the history of the University Heights area
• Sports and entertainment
• The Rhode Island Auditorium – teams and performances
• Cycle track, football team and later drive-in movie at Shaws Plaza
• Fields behind the Auditorium where circuses were held and zeppelins landed.
• Child work in stores (and other businesses?)
• Scandals in the neighborhood.

Where should we look for more information?

• · Oral histories and personal recollections.
• · Photos from personal and family collections
• · Ethnic societies: Jewish Historical Society, Black History Society
• · RI Historical Society
• · RI Public Library’s Rhode Island Room, newspaper archives and online catalog
• · Brown University Libraries
• · Summit Ave. School Facebook group (Al Chin maintains)

What should we do now?

• · Solicit personal reminiscences for publication in Summit News and online.
• · Try to get article in RI Historical Society magazine – some people strongly preferred a published product to an online focus.
• · Get together as a group periodically to continue discussions.

Everyone was interested in having another history night. March, after the SNA Annual Meeting in February, seems like a good time for the next public event. In the meantime a number of people were interested in meeting more frequently. I will set up a meeting in January where we can refine and follow through on the ideas we put forward tonight.

Anyone interested in joining in may contact Jon Howard (contact information below).

Submitted

Jonathan Howard
178 Ninth St
331-2272
jon@ceffect.com

Where the East Side Used to

Be?

SNA joins with the Mt. Hope Neighborhood

Association for our second annual joint neighborhood

History Night on Tuesday, November 24 from 7 to 8:30

p.m. at the Church of the Redeemer, 655 Hope Street.

This time around, we invite neighbors to create their

own history of the East Side by calling on Rhode

Island’s most important navigational aid: our memory

maps of where vanished neighborhood landmarks used

to be. Do you remember the Jenkins Street or Summit

Avenue Schools? Did you shop at Miller’s Deli or Carl’s

Diggin’s? Did you bowl at Down Under Duckpins

(which was where Sullivan’s Lanes used to be)?

Last year’s event on the history of North Main Street

was very well attended. One of the highlights was the

wealth of memories shared by audience members. This

time around, we’ll devote the entire program to

audience participation. Please join us on Nov. 24th for

a lively exploration into remembered neighborhood

stores, schools, restaurants and organizations.

East of Hope Lorimer Blackstone map-99

Ninth-Eighth to Pawtucket maps-97-98

Frost to Pawtucket east of NMS maps-95-961

Frost to Pawtucket east of NMS maps-95-96

Fouth to Nighth-Eighth maps-91-92-93-94

Rochambeau to Fourth maps-88-89-90

maps-78-79-80

maps-68-69-70-71-721

maps-57-58-601

maps-97-98-99

The Hope, Mount Hope and Blackstone Plan was presented and public comments were received at the July meeting of the CPC.  The plan was amended based on comments received and the changes were presented at the August 18th meeting.  The CPC agreed to postpone voting on the plan until the October 20th  meeting. 

 Here is the August 2009 revision with changes underlined:

 Mount Hope-Hope-Blackstone Neighborhood Plan Draft–August 2009

Contents

Introduction 3

Contents 4

Charrette Overview 5

Charrette Schedule 6

Neighborhood Overview 7 - 11

Mount Hope, Hope and Blackstone History Timeline 8 - 9

The People - Neighborhood Demographics 12 - 13

Development Patterns - Neighborhood Typologies 14 - 18

Historic Districts 19

Business and Industry 20

Neighborhood Issues 21 - 25

Neighborhood Action Plan 26 - 36

Next Steps 37

We’ll have snacks and games from 3-5pm at the 9th Street Park (corner of 9th and Summit).  Please plan to stop by to say hello to your neighbors and learn more about the Summit Neighborhood Association.  For more information contact the events committee at events@sna.providence.ri.us.

Please help spread the word by passing this info along to your friends and neighbors.

We hope to see you there!