India Point Park
Encyclopedia
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.
In the 1960s, declines in the area's use for shipping led to its being redeveloped as recreational space. Local architectural historian William McKenzie Woodward notes that the construction of Interstate 195
isolates the park from the rest of the East Side, which he believes is an effect poorly mitigated by the pedestrian walkway. Consequently, more space than might be desired is reserved for parking since the park is mostly reached by car. This will hopefully be remedied by the opening of the new pedestrian bridge which replaced the original one after it was demolished to make room for the relocation of I-195.
RIDOT continued work on the replacement bridge, to be called the India Point Park Pedestrian Bridge, through the late fall of 2007 and winter of 2008. The bridge was scheduled to open in September 2007, but efforts to save a large caliper tree on the Fox Point side and more complicated than expected construction on the India Point Park side pushed the opening to October 2008 - three years after the demolition of the old bridge. http://www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/10/18/Metro/Tree-Stalls.India.Point.Park.Bridge.Opening-3040949.shtml
The new pedestrian bridge is six times wider than the one it replaced. It features benches, decorative lighting and will feature landscaping of flowers, shrubs and small trees on the bridge itself as well as on a stair and ramp system on the India Point Park side. Once the watering system is installed in the fall of 2009, the ambitious landscaping part of the bridge project will begin. RIDOT has a web site listing computer renderings of the new bridge, as well as animations of the project. http://www.dot.state.ri.us/projects/construction/195relo/indiapedbr/index.htm
Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island
Fox Point is a neighborhood in the East Side of Providence, RI. It is bounded by the Providence and Seekonk rivers, Interstate 195 and the College Hill and Wayland neighborhoods...
neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
at the confluence of the Seekonk River
Seekonk River
The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 km . Most historical scholars agree that the name is derived from two Native American words, sucki and honc...
and Providence River
Providence River
thumb|The city of Providence as seen from the Providence River at its confluence with the Narragansett BayThe Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles...
. The park takes its name from the maritime activity connecting Providence with the East and West Indies.
In the 1960s, declines in the area's use for shipping led to its being redeveloped as recreational space. Local architectural historian William McKenzie Woodward notes that the construction of Interstate 195
Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)
Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts...
isolates the park from the rest of the East Side, which he believes is an effect poorly mitigated by the pedestrian walkway. Consequently, more space than might be desired is reserved for parking since the park is mostly reached by car. This will hopefully be remedied by the opening of the new pedestrian bridge which replaced the original one after it was demolished to make room for the relocation of I-195.
RIDOT continued work on the replacement bridge, to be called the India Point Park Pedestrian Bridge, through the late fall of 2007 and winter of 2008. The bridge was scheduled to open in September 2007, but efforts to save a large caliper tree on the Fox Point side and more complicated than expected construction on the India Point Park side pushed the opening to October 2008 - three years after the demolition of the old bridge. http://www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/10/18/Metro/Tree-Stalls.India.Point.Park.Bridge.Opening-3040949.shtml
The new pedestrian bridge is six times wider than the one it replaced. It features benches, decorative lighting and will feature landscaping of flowers, shrubs and small trees on the bridge itself as well as on a stair and ramp system on the India Point Park side. Once the watering system is installed in the fall of 2009, the ambitious landscaping part of the bridge project will begin. RIDOT has a web site listing computer renderings of the new bridge, as well as animations of the project. http://www.dot.state.ri.us/projects/construction/195relo/indiapedbr/index.htm