Providence | |
|---|---|
Downtown Providence skyline Weybosset Street | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname(s): The Creative Capital, the Renaissance City, the Divine City, PVD, Prov | |
| Motto: "What Cheer?"[a] | |
 Interactive map of Providence | |
  Providence Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 41°49′25″N 71°25′20″W / 41.82361°N 71.42222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Rhode Island |
| County | Providence |
| Region | New England |
| Settled | 1636 |
| Incorporated (city) | November 5, 1832 |
| Founded by | Roger Williams |
| Named for | Divine providence |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Providence City Council |
| • Mayor | Brett Smiley (D) |
| Area | |
| 20.58 sq mi (53.31 km2) | |
| • Land | 18.41 sq mi (47.67 km2) |
| • Water | 2.18 sq mi (5.64 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population | |
| 190,934 | |
| • Rank | US: 134th |
| • Density | 10,373.47/sq mi (4,005.25/km2) |
| • Urban | 1,285,806 (US: 39th) |
| • Urban density | 2,362.5/sq mi (912.2/km2) |
| • Metro | 1,676,579 (US: 38th) |
| Demonym | Providentian |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | $105.561 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 02901–02912, 02918-02919, 02940 |
| Area code | 401 |
| FIPS code | 44-59000 |
| Website | www |
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Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, it is one of the oldest cities in New England,[7] founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence"[8] which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port, as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.
Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool, jewelry, and silverware industries.[9][10] Today, the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and eight institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains some manufacturing activity.
At the 2020 census, Providence had a population of 190,934, making it the third-most-populous city in New England after Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Providence metropolitan area, which extends into Massachusetts, is the second largest metropolitan area in New England by a large margin with over 1.6 million residents, nearly 30% larger than metro Hartford.[11][12]
- ^ Bayles, Richard M., ed. (1891). History of Providence County, Rhode Island. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Preston & Co. p. 16.
- ^ Banvard, Joseph (1858). A Guide to Providence River and Narragansett Bay from Providence to Newport. Providence: Coggeshall & Stewart. p. 17.
- ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Providence, Rhode Island
- ^ "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
- ^ Guyot, Arnold (1882). Scribner's Geographical Reader and Primer: A Series of Journeys Round the World (based on Guyot's Introduction) with Primary Lessons. Scribner.
- ^ "Roger Williams: Founding Providence". nps.gov. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
...having made covenant of peaceable neighborhood with all the sachems and natives round about us, and having, in a sense of God's merciful providence unto me in my distress, called the place PROVIDENCE...
- ^ "Providence Architecture". brown.edu. Archived from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ Kupperman, Karen Ordahl (June 1995). Providence Island, 1630–1641: The Other Puritan Colony. Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-521-35205-3.
- ^ "Massachusetts Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Rhode Island Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
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