Exploring Providence
RISD is located in Providence, a hub of creative activity in Rhode Island and home to several colleges, waterfront parks and a thriving arts scene. To discover the area as well as opportunities and local resources for growing your skills, read more below.
Just across the Providence River, Downtown is where you can find the Fleet Library at RISD and the Fletcher building, home to the college’s Center for Integrated Technologies. It is also home to Rhode Island’s primary bus and train terminals, giving you easy access to transportation across and outside of Rhode Island.
East Side
The East Side comprises the College Hill, Thayer Street, Fox Point, Wayland Square, Mount Hope and Blackstone neighborhoods—each with their own residential and commercial character. Of particular interest to RISD students, College Hill is home to both RISD and Brown University, and Thayer Street offers a range of dining, shopping and entertainment options just up the hill from campus.
On the West End you’ll find the Broadway/Armory district and Federal Hill, a neighborhood well known for its Italian restaurants, bakeries and specialty shops. Federal Hill is known for its Italian-American community and is full of restaurants and bakeries. In the Broadway/Armory district, you’ll find more restaurants and local stores, as well as the Columbus Theatre, a beloved venue for live music and movies hard to see elsewhere in Rhode Island.
To the west of the Armory is Olneyville, a neighborhood known for its mill buildings and as the home base of the Fort Thunder arts collective in the ’90s. There's a lot for artists and designers to get involved in in this part of town including The Steel Yard, a nonprofit arts center and major draw to local makers, and The Wurks artist collaborative. Another neighborhood draw is Riffraff—an independent bookstore that hosts local events.