Founded all the way back in 1636, Providence is one of the oldest cities in America. It was founded by puritan exiles from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and would ultimately become one of America’s original 13 colonies. So, Providence is one of the O.G.s.
What is Providence like today? Well, it turns out that being the “most populous city” in the smallest state in the US doesn’t mean much in terms of population. Boston, which is less than 2 hours away, absolutely dwarfs Providence, whose population is even less than that of Worcester (“wus-tah”), MA. So, Providence is a relatively small place. However, it still manages to play an active role as a regional hub, boasting 8 major universities, including Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales University.
I have been doing this blog for like 8 years now, so I am really only just now arriving at the point where I am running out of things to cover in certain cities. My first articles on San Fran were relatively early in the lifespan of this site, so I would probably do things differently if I were to write about those same things now, but the fact remains that—for the time being—there’s a lot that has already been “checked off the list” here. In other cities that might deter me from taking as many photos or visiting as often, but not here. In San Fransisco, I don’t need an angle. I am happy just to exist here, and walking around it always feels like I shame to leave my camera behind.
Today we’re going to start with a clerical note that was once confusing to me. The instant you start talking about Boston neighborhoods, you will hear the terms “South Boston,” “South End,” and “Southie” come up fairly often. When I first moved to Boston back in the day, this was confusing to me. I knew there was more than one neighborhood in the mix, but all of these terms sounded the same to me. Well let me break this down for you: South Boston and South End are different neighborhoods. And “Southie” is the common nickname for South Boston. Historically, these were very different places, and today we’re going to check out both of them…
