Another Stroll in Providence

Yes, another stroll in Providence last Saturday, while the weather was still mild and comfortable.

This time, we went to the historic Jewelry District, which now houses various organizations. They range from the Children’s Museum to the Brown University Advancement Office, several healthcare organizations, a few restaurants, and an apartment complex converted from the old Imperial Knife Company building.

Providence Jewelry District

We parked across from the entrance of the Children’s Museum with the huge tail of a dragon climbing the roof. We would see the head of the dragon on our way back, drooping from the other side of the building. A little further was the Brown University Advancement Office.

The beautifully renovated old foundry building looked great with stone walls, a tower of some sort, and very clean grounds. Around the corner, we came to the old Imperial Knife complex now in use as lofts, apartments, and business space. A very nice restaurant, CAV, has been in that building for quite some time. But, some other stores seem to have moved elsewhere. The courtyard was quiet, and pleasant, and showed bright red accents in various spots.

We saw trees getting ready to part with their leaves. Some were already looking naked without them, but they cast nice shadows on nearby walls. It was interesting to look at the highways we travel on from down below where the “Wrong Way” signs looked odd and confusing.

On a walk not seeking a particular thing to photograph, one can notice things like pockmarked walls in a highly geometric frame and a couple of wall openings made by repeating and overlapping squares. The metal screen in front of a closed garage presented a pattern both rhythmic and repetitive, and impenetrable. When you look at the photograph, you may experience a feeling of visual impenetrability.

The City Center

On the way back, Jim drove around town a little. Coming down from College Street, I noticed the quiet Saturday traffic and the Textron Tower in the heart of the financial center. The Textron Tower is a 23-floor skyscraper that used to be the Old Stone (Bank) Tower, completed in 1972. Next to the Textron Tower stood a relatively small building, the 6-storey Merchants Bank built between 1855 and 1857, both on the other side of the Providence River.

We made a stop for coffee at the Coffee Exchange on Wickenden Street. While sipping a cup of caffè Americano, I noticed a biker in her leather jacket, pants, and boots waiting for her coffee. Outside, there was  a wall with a robust ivy cover that climbed to the top, screaming “I can climb anywhere!”

Previous stroll in Providence a different path.