Photography

Providence's Benefit Street showcases the rich history of Rhode Island's capital, a tangible history that can be experienced firsthand by walking one mile through the heart of the city.

Officially established by 1772 for ""the benefit of all,"" Benefit Street is arguably the most historic thoroughfare in Rhode Island. Some of Providence's most prominent families, including the Browns (the namesake of Brown University), built stately homes on Benefit Street's hillside, many of which still stand today. Threatened by years of neglect, the Providence Preservation Society intervened in the 1950s to save the buildings that line the street. Benefit Street has survived the dangers of demolition and now bears witness to disparate time periods and communities. It is the site of important educational and community institutions, including the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, the First Baptist Church, and the Providence Athenaeum, the fourth oldest library in the United States.

Resident historians Thomas E. and Barbara A. Greene present a comprehensive look at the development and growth of their North Providence from 1765 to 1995.

As this volume is the first history of any sort to ever be published on the town, numerous vintage photographs--many rare and previously unpublished-- have been carefully selected to create a fascinating portrait of the town and its villages through the years. North Providence, which from 1765 to 1874 contained the old village of Pawtucket, today consists of 5. 8 square miles of land in northern Rhode Island. The villages of North Providence are home to a variety of cultural and ethnic groups; each one maintains its own character and distinct identity. The authors' presentation includes a concise textual history of each village and incorporates significant original research on the history of North Providence schools in each district.

Newport, Rhode Island, has been a city of innovation since its beginning nearly four centuries ago. Some of the claims on a national level are true, while some have been greatly distorted over the years.

The first law banning the importation of slaves in the colonies was enacted in the city, and the first Methodist church in the world with a steeple and bell is located here. But was the first female lighthouse keeper in America from here? Was Newport the first place where a medical lecture was given? Author and research historian Brian M. Stinson offers a chronological collection of vignettes detailing the city's many firsts.

Rhode Island Amusement Parks brings back the memories of a time less complicated than the present, when a sense of family held communities together.

Rhode Islanders were once able to enjoy amusement parks without traveling far; the state was home to several ocean front parks as early as the mid-18th century, with some of them surviving into the late 19th century. Photographers Rob Lewis and Ryan Young have embarked on a journey to discover the amusement parks of the past in this delightful and unprecedented collection of images. View the parks that provided a recreational outlet for so many Rhode Island families and the visitors who frequented them. Scenes from several neighboring Massachusetts amusement parks are also pictured. The images in this collection are from two large private archives as well as treasured family collections. Special highlights include photographs of hand-operated rides of the 1800s and views of President Taft's plane, which landed at Sandy Beach in 1911. Also featured is Vanity Fair, an amusement park that lasted only five years during the first decade of this century. Residents of these communities will enjoy seeing Rhode Island as it once was and will witness the changes it has endured over the years.

The town of Warren, Rhode Island, began life as a maritime community in the late 1700s.

It continued to base its economy on the sea until the mid-1800s when the construction of a mill shifted the town's economic base to textiles. This exciting photographic history of Warren chronicles the town's development from about 1870 to 1970--to this day, Warren includes a number of 18th and 19th century homes, wharves, and warehouses, and many of the earlier incarnations of these structures are still recognizable in today's landscape. The view from the steeple of the Methodist church is substantially unchanged from that which appears in a photograph taken in the 1870s, and only the stately elm trees--since victims to arboreal disease--are missing today from the 19th century streetscapes. This marvelous collection portrays the living history of a charming New England seaport town.