Early American colonists would often turn to the Scriptures in search of high sounding names of biblical provenance to bestow upon their settlements – it has helped to sustain the happy notion that the American destiny is guided by a divine hand. The city of Providence in Rhode Island is one such community but on the evidence of Wikipedia the extent to which each and every citizen has been blessed by God’s Merciful Providence is not especially prodigious. Our postcard trip to Providence starts at the Union Station – an ambitious and impressive exterior concealing a sepulchral concourse where the great and the good promenade in pursuit of assignation. The days when downtown described a place of bustling sidewalks and entrepreneurial energy are recorded below. If the hand of providence transported me back in time, I would certainly check-in at the Dorrance Hotel before taking an evening stroll along Weybosset Street to buy a new hat and treat myself to a fine cigar with a sumptuous supper at the Chinese-American Restaurant to follow. And what better way to conclude our visit than a nocturnal contemplation of the city’s mighty industrial riverbanks gleaming by the light of a silvery moon.
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