Thursday, May 5, 2011

Experience New England: Providence Independence Trail

image source: creative commons
Yesterday, May 4th 2011, Rhode Island's Govenor Chaffee and Providence Mayor Tavares unveiled the "Independence Trail." This three mile, downtown Providence trail will
"feature 75 sites ranging from a place where George Washington slept to a statue of Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, whose distinctive facial hair coined the word 'sideburns.'"  (wpri.com)

The trail will also
"cover more than four centuries of Rhode Island history, culture, architecture and folklore – including the birthplace of religious freedom, the site of the first shot in the fight against England, and the spot where Lincoln spoke." (providenceri.com)

According to one article, one of the goals of the Independence Trail is to
"help Providence supplant Boston and Philadelphia as the Northeastern capitals of historical tourist attractions." (mysanantonio.com)

The trail seems like an exciting way to showcase the important history of Providence. It will be a fun way for both native Rhode Islander's and out of town tourists to more fully understand all that Rhode Island has to offer. At each site there will be a number you can call to get a prerecorded description of the importance of the stop. The trail should be fully complete by July 4th, or so says the trail's founder Robert Burke.

I think that the Independence Trail will be quite an interesting addition to the development of Providence as a whole, as well as the tourism sector. It will give Providence more depth as a destination, and create that connection and education that tourists seek in historic locations. (Even better because I think people will be surprised at the amount of history that is located here.) Personally, I am excited for this.




What do you think? If you are a local, are you going to check it out?
If you arent in the area, is this something that interests you?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Local, interested, and bothered by the route indicated on the map. Looks like the best way to show off high traffic streets and annoying street crossings near the mall.

Also curious to see if it gets any marketing from CVB local tourism, and if it is possible on a bicycle. Could make a great 45-minute to 1-hour bike tour of historic sites.

ImagineJoe said...

Also a local - surprised the map takes walkers across 6 lanes of traffic on Memorial Blvd, rather then throught the 911 Memorial Pedestrian Tunnel that goes underneath it. Hope no one dies because they missed this - or if they got some kind of sponsorship from a business along that way, that they got paid well. (You can tell from my cynicism that
I'm local... : )

Alissa:Adventurer said...

Joe, that is definitely a good point. Why the heck would they even think that is a good idea?! The tunnel is a landmark! Maybe Gtech pitched in a few bucks, but still.. come on.

Wisconsin Dells said...

England is a perfect place to be.