Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/51

 PROVIDENCE 43 are of brick and stone, among which are many mansions of great elegance. Several of the churches present fine specimens of architecture. The arcade, on the W. side, is the finest of the kind in the United States. It extends from Westminster to Weybosset street, 225 ft. in length by 80 in width, a portion in the centre being about 50 ft. wider; it is three stories high, has 78 shops, and is devoted chiefly to the retail trade, the principal articles sold be- ing dry goods, boots and shoes, hats, and jew- elry. The building is of granite, with two imposing Doric porticoes, one on each street. In the vicinity is the massive granite building of the custom house and post office. The state house is a brick building on the E. side of Providence river. Several of the school houses are handsome buildings. The new opera house and the Butler exchange are also fine structures. Near the railroad depot the state has erected a monument to its citizens who fell in the civil war; it was completed in 1871 at a cost of $60,000, and consists of a base of blue Westerly granite, with five bronze statues. In the same vicinity a granite building for the city hall has recently been commenced, which will cost about $675,000. The present city hall is a three-story brick structure. A coun- ty court house is to be erected on the corner of Benefit and College streets. The Narragan- sett hotel, in course of construction, is to be of stone, brick, and iron, seven stories high, covering 22,000 sq. ft. There are several small public squares. Roger Williams park, con- taining about 100 acres, is near the W. shore of Narragansett bay, in the S. part of the city; it was devised to the city in 1871 by Betsy Williams, a descendant of Roger Wil- liams. The north burying ground, in the N. part of the city, is the property of the muni- cipality ; it contains 122 acres. Swan Point cemetery, on the E. bank of the Seekonk riv- er, embraces a large tract of beautifully diver- sified land, laid out at a great cost and elegant- ly ornamented. The following railroads con- nect Providence with the principal points in New England : Boston and Providence ; Hart- ford, Providence, and Fishkill ; New Bed- ford; Providence, Nantucket, and Cape Cod; Providence and Springfield; Providence and Stonington; Providence and Worcester ; War- wick ; Fall River, Warren, and Providence ; and Providence, Warren, and Bristol. All of these except the last two occupy the same passenger depot, a spacious and elegant struc- ture of brick nearly 700 ft. long, situated near the heart of the city on the S. side of the cove, and near the great bridge. Horse cars run through different parts of the city and to the adjoining towns. A daily passenger line and a semi- weekly freight line of steamers ply to New York, and steamers also run to Philadel- phia, Baltimore, Norfolk, and Charleston, and to Fall River, Newport, and various points on Narragansett bay. During the colonial pe- riod Providence enjoyed an extensive foreign TEARS. No. of pieces. TEARS. No. of pieces. 1864... 2,697,150 1870... 5.540.800 1805 4,112,700 1671 .. 6,612 800 1666 2,953,700 1672. 4,842,600 1867 2,688,000 1873.. 8 888 100 1S6S 4,701,900 1874 2 648 210 1669 9,178,000 commerce, which has now greatly fallen off, and its commerce is chiefly confined to the coasting trade. The value of foreign com- merce for the year ending June 30, 1875, was $589,545 ($23,086 exports and $566,459 im- ports). The number of arrivals from foreign ports during the same year was 148 ; of coast- wise arrivals, 5,852 ; number of vessels be- longing to the port at the close of the year, 142, tonnage 36,995. Providence is the lead- ing market for the trade in domestic printing cloths. The sales since 1864 have been as follows : The pieces average 43 yards each. Its manu- factures are very extensive, and include cot- ton and woollen goods, iron, gold, and sil- ver wares, and numerous other articles. The American screw company possesses five large mills and five storehouses, besides other build- ings; the mills have a capacity for the em- ployment of about 2,500 hands, and for the production daily of nearly 40,000 gross of wood screws, several tons of rivets, large quantities of machine screws, stove bolts, coach screws, tire bolts, &c. The Providence tool company produces heavy and ship chan- dlers' hardware, sewing machines, and the Pea- body breech-loading rifle ; the works cover more than five acres and employ 1,500 hands. The Providence steam engine company manu- factures the Greene cut-off engine, and also steam boilers and riveting machines. The works of the Barstow stove company cover more than two acres. The Allen fire depart- ment supply company manufactures steam fire engines, fire hose, hose carriages, hose coup- lings, discharge pipes, hydrants, fire escapes, &c. ; it has a brass foundery in connection with its works, in which brass finishing is extensively carried on. The manufacture of gold jewelry is the most prominent industry of the city ; more than 150 establishments of all sizes are engaged in it, and the annual pro- duct is about $5,000,000. The Gorham com- pany's manufactory of solid silver ware em- ploys nearly 400 hands, and is the leading sil- ver manufactory of the world. There are sev- eral establishments for the refining of gold and silver, in which are smelted large quantities of sweepings and refuse obtained from the jewelry establishments. About 25 establish- ments are engaged in the manufacture of wool- len cloths, yarns, &c., and worsted goods; an<J about 50, with 150,000 spindles, in the man ufacture of printing cloths, yarns, battings, thread, spool cotton, lacings, braids, and other cotton goods. The Fletcher manufacturing company employs 500 hands, and is the largest