Greater Kennedy Plaza

The Greater Kennedy Plaza is a beautiful park space located in downtown Providence, not far from City Hall. The Downtown Parks Conservancy has transformed the transportation hub in a plaza where people can congregate, enjoy art, listen to music and play with their children.

The plaza was first established in the early 1800s and was known as “Exchange Place.” It was a central transportation center for horse-drawn carriages riding from Rhode Island to Connecticut. Since then, it has gone through several renovations. In 1847, the first Union Station was built in the plaza. It wasn’t long before that station proved to be too small, unable to keep up with the burgeoning rail industry. A new Union Station was constructed by the end of the century, together with Burnside Park on the plaza’s north side.

In September of 1871, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated. It stands at the front facing Kennedy Plaza. The monument is a memorial to 1,727 Rhode Islanders that were killed during the Civil War. The statues in each corner of the monument represent the four branches of the military service and the tallest statue in the center stands for America.  There are twelve bronze plaques surrounding the memorial which list the names of those men that gave their lives in the service of our nation. The granite structure was designed by American artist Randolph Rogers.

The “City Beautiful” movement began just prior to the turn of the twentieth century. The movement pushed the idea that design could not be separated from social issues and should encourage civic pride and engagement. A statue of Civil War General Ambrose E. Burnside was moved from the plaza to the adjacent Burnside park, for whom it was named. A gorgeous fountain, the Carrie Brown Bajnotti Memorial Fountain, was installed in the park at this time.

Trolleys became a popular mode of transportation around 1914. By 1920, the plaza was surrounded by trolley tracks to accommodate residents who preferred to ride the trolley.  However, the trolleys gave way to buses in the 1940s and were shut down in 1948.  The automobile soon changed the face of transportation in Providence. People could now drive miles in their own vehicle. The bus system crumbled and the plaza turned into a large parking area. Eventually, the streets became so congested that the city’s mayor, Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, unveiled a plan in 1983 to centralize the bus stations at Kennedy Plaza to try to relieve the traffic problem and reduce air pollution caused by vehicle emissions. Since then, there have been various plans to return at least part of the plaza to its original recreational intention, including the addition of a skating rink (1998), a farmers’ market, family programming, and space for public gatherings. Bus stops were moved to the outer edges of the plaza. Today, there are a variety of food trucks lining the plaza so that friends can grab a coffee or a quick bit to eat and enjoy on the plaza’s lawn. There are various family events, including the Imagination Center, Storytime and Art in the Park, or the Open Air Reading Room, or special events such as the Burnside Music Series and Beer Garden happening on Thursday evenings.  Renovations and additional programming are still being planned at Kennedy Plaza.