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Downtown, also known as Downcity, is the central economic, political, and cultural district of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bounded on the east by Canal Street and the Providence River, to the north by Smith Street, to the west by Interstate 95, and to the south by Henderson Street. I-95 serves as a physical barrier between the city's commercial core and neighborhoods of Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence. Most of the downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Downtown Providence Historic District. ==History== Originally known as 'Weybossett Neck' or 'Weybossett Side,' Downtown was first settled by religious dissidents from the First Congregational Society in 1746. Their settlement was located near present-day Westminster Street.〔(Providence Neighborhoods: Blackstone )〕 Downtown did not witness substantial development until the early 19th century, when Providence began to compete with Newport, Rhode Island. British forces had destroyed much of Newport during the American War for Independence, making the city's merchants vulnerable to competition from Providence.〔 This prevented the development of a commercial district along the western bank of the Providence River. During the industrialization of the late 19th century, an ever-expanding railroad industry emanating from Union Station, eventually resulted in the complete paving over of the Great Salt Cove and the two branches of the Providence River.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Home – providencejournal.com – Providence, RI )〕 The result of decades of expansion was the isolation of the state capitol from the rest of downtown by an imposing mass of railroad tracks, often called locally the "Chinese Wall". As rail traffic dropped off, 75 percent by 1980,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Union Station )〕 city planners saw an opportunity to open up central land for development and unify downtown with the Capitol. A new, smaller train station was built in 1986 a half mile north of its predecessor, and tracks were removed or routed underground. The new land precipitated a massive remaking of the character of the city's downtown. From 1975 until 1982, under Mayor Vincent Cianci, Jr, $606 million of local and national Community Development funds from were invested. Roads were removed and the city's natural rivers were opened up and lined with a cobblestone-paved park called Waterplace Park in 1994, which is now host to popular WaterFire festivals.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=WaterFire Providence )〕 Private and public developments followed and the new area adjacent to the Capitol became known as Capitol Center.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Providence: Economy )〕 Ushered in by the construction of the new train station (1986), the development of the new land brought new buildings: The Gateway Building (1990), One Citizens Plaza (1991), Center Place (1992), a Westin hotel and Providence Convention Center (1993), Providence Place Mall (1999), Courtyard Marriott (2000), GTECH headquarters (2006), The Residences at the Westin (2007), Waterplace condominiums (2007), and Capitol Cove still under construction. In 2007, the Renaissance Providence Hotel opened in Masonic Temple building, which had been abandoned amidst the Great Depression a half century prior.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Downtown Providence RI Hotels – Hotels in Providence Rhode Island – The Renaissance Providence )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Downtown, Providence, Rhode Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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