India Point Park

India Point Park
Location	Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°49′03″N 71°23′33″W / 41.8176003°N 71.3925556°W / 41.8176003; -71.3925556Coordinates: 41°49′03″N 71°23′33″W / 41.8176003°N 71.3925556°W / 41.8176003; -71.3925556
Area	18 acres (73,000 m2)
Created	1974 (1974)
Visitors	75,000

India Point Park is a park in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island at the confluence of the Seekonk River and Providence River. The park takes its name from the maritime activity connecting Providence with the East and West Indies.^[1] The East Bay Bike Path begins at the eastern end of the park, and crosses over the Washington Bridge before heading to Watchemoket Square in East Providence and continuing on to Bristol and the Mount Hope Bridge. The park is also a part of the Washington–Rochambeau National Historic Trail.

History

Prominent transmission towers in the north part of the park

India Point was Providence's first port, established in 1680. It remained a busy and prosperous waterfront area into the early 1900s, but began to decline during the Great Depression.^[2] By the 1940s, after being battered by the 1938 New England hurricane, commerce largely ceased and it turned into a scrap yard.^[2] In the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 195 cut India Point off from the rest of the neighborhood. Architectural historian William McKenzie Woodward believed the effect was poorly mitigated by the pedestrian walkway.^[3]

In the 1960s and 1970s, Providence underwent a concerted beautification effort, including, finally, the transformation of India Point into a public park dedicated in 1974.^[2]

The original pedestrian bridge over I-195 was demolished in 2005 for an expanded linear park bridge which opened a few years later, providing greater access for the greater Fox Point neighborhood.^[4] Foot traffic has also benefitted from the George Redman Linear Park, which was completed in September 2015.

The long period of neglect is still reflected in the condition of the Green Jacket Shoal, the section of the Providence River between Fox Point and Riverside, which has accumulated a century's worth of debris. Remnants of destroyed docks, pilings, a dry dock, shipwrecks, abandoned ships, and other structures stick out of the water in many places around the shoal, owing to many years of natural disasters and economic hardship.^[5][6] The aesthetic of the surrounding water is closely associated with the park. As the character of the area moved away from its industrial past, and with increased public recreational use of the water via India Point Park and Bold Point, the detritus has come to be a noted source of urban blight and a safety concern for anyone using the water.^[5][7]

Linear Park Bridge and Performing Arts Amphitheater

The new linear park pedestrian bridge over Interstate 195 is six times wider than the one it replaced, and connects to East Street. It features benches, decorative lighting and landscaping of flowers, shrubs and small trees on the bridge itself, and a stair/ ramp system on the park side. The watering system was installed in the fall of 2009. The ramp leading to the linear park bridge also serves as 'on the green' seating for the amphitheater formed at the base/ shoreline of the park. Such events as July 4th performances of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra have taken place in this performing arts space.^[8]

Other amenities include the Wyndham Garden Hotel, the Marston Boathouse - Brown University and sports fields on the east end of the park.

References

External links

• Friends of India Point Park