The book Lost Providence by David Brussat tells the story of the renewal of Providence and its architectural change. The author writes “Providence has one of the nation’s most intact historic downtowns and is one of America’s most beautiful cities.”
Page 25 in the Prologue shows an historic map showing Providence as the center of Northern Industries, a rival to Boston, New York and Philadelphia (see credits in the image below).
You can read this book and many other books about Providence at the Cole Farmhouse #USA1731
David Brussat
The historic Cole Farmhouse 