About The District
The Jewelry District is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. The neighborhood occupies unceded territories of the Wampanoag and Narragansett peoples. The neighborhood and many buildings are listed on the National Historic Register in 1985.
The neighborhood’s past is intertwined deeply with the ups and downs of Providence’s history. Located adjacent to the Downtown core, the Jewelry District was home to the costume jewelry industry that helped propel Providence to its height. Symbolically, highways cut the District off from the rest the City as urban decay and renewal set in.
With the highway removed, the Jewelry District is changing rapidly. With both new construction and long-time residents and businesses, the neighborhood is leading the City towards a future to best the past.
What’s in a name?
Despite the importance of costume jewelry to the area and the City, the name “the Jewelry District” has never a sure thing around here. Not long ago, the JDA waged a successful campaign to fight off the forces massing behind renaming us “The Knowledge District.” Just imagine the JDA changing its name to The Knowledge District Association.
We recently welcomed a brand new restaurant that opened on Richmond Street proudly calling itself The District. That's pretty clear, and as far as we are concerned the word “Jewelry” is understood, just silent, like the “p” in “psychiatrist.”
As the Providence Journal has pointed out, there have been many attempts to rebrand our neighborhood:
Every governor wants to put his or her stamp on economic development by renaming the former I-195 land and surrounding area in downtown Providence. Gov. Gina Raimondo's administration dubbed the land the Providence Innovation & Design District last January. The name has been more in use in recent weeks, starting when Raimondo announced the deal in which Wexford Science & Technology will build an innovation center on the land.
During Gov. Donald Carcieri's administration, the name Knowledge District was popular, based on the idea that the jobs of the future would be built on brain power. The first I-195 Commission, under Gov. Lincoln Chafee's tenure, marketed the land as "The Link," indicating development there would link together previously separated parts of the city.
But for decades before those names surfaced, the area was called the Jewelry District — when Providence was the center of the costume jewelry industry and many companies were located there. And before that, some people called the area the Old Harbor District because of its location on the waterfront.
These are the “correct” names:
“The Jewelry District” — The general neighborhood. There aren’t any official or strict boundaries, but we generally consider this area to be the “Jewelry District.”
“Providence Jewelry Manufacturing Historic District” — This refers to the buildings and land specifically listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This official “historic district” has well-defined boundaries, and is entirely within what we call “the Jewelry District.” We have a detailed history of this area available.
“I-195 Redevelopment District” — This is an area designated by State Law for redevelopment when I-195 was removed from the area. Most of this land is located within the Jewelry District, but there are also parcels located in Fox Point. The District is managed by the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission. The I-195 Commission, the Governor, and developers like to call the area the “Innovation and Design District.”