The Jewelry District is a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island located just south of Downtown between Interstate 195 and Henderson Street. Interstate 95 lies at the western edge of the neighborhood, which includes Davol Square and the waterfront along the west bank of the Providence River. The neighborhood was home to a large number of jewelry manufacturing companies beginning in the 19th century. The area was detached from the rest of downtown with the construction of Interstate 195 in the 1960s. However, a major construction project, known as the "Iway" is currently under way to relocate Interstate 195 further south, thereby reconnecting the district with Downtown. Contained within the Jewelry District neighborhood is the Providence Jewelry Manufacturing Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Landmarks
The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is the most prominent feature of this area. The barrier protects Providence from storm surge flooding like that it had endured in the 1938 New England Hurricane and again in 1954 from Hurricane Carol. In both storms, downtown flooded to a depth of over eight feet at some locations. Downtown has not suffered substantial flooding since the construction of the barrier. A segment of Interstate 195 that spans the Jewelry District and Fox Point was relocated south, in what the Rhode Island Department of Transportation has dubbed the "Iway" project. The relocation has resulted in a new Providence River bridge crossing. This recent addition spans the Providence River just south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. Originally constructed in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, the Iway bridge had been floated north up Narragansett Bay for the project. India Point Park, located at the confluence of the Providence and Seekonk rivers, is the only broad expanse of bay shoreline in Providence accessible by the public. South Street Landing is a very prominent structure in the neighborhood, located on Eddy Street right on the river, adjacent to the Point Street Bridge. The large building had served as a power station from 1912 to 1995, and subsequently sat vacant and decaying for many years. Various redevelopment projects were proposed which never came to fruition. In 2017 the structure was entirely renovated and re-opened under the name South Street Landing. The building is shared by Brown University, Rhode Island College, and University of Rhode Island. A 750-space parking garage was constructed next door. An adjacent 270-bed housing complex is scheduled to be completed on Point Street in 2019.
Collier Point Park is located along the Providence waterfront south of Davol Square. The park was home to a decommissioned Russian submarine, Juliet 484, which was used in 2000 for the filming of the movie in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The submarine had been in use as a museum until the submarine sank in a storm April 17–18, 2007. The submarine's owners had planned to salvage the submarine and reopen the museum, but were unable to obtain sufficient funds for the project.
