PROVIDENCE, R.I. - On a peaceful Thursday along the Providence River banks, Carrie Witherell reads a novel. As she relaxes, the occasional skateboarder practices tricks on the small concrete blocks guarding the river.
Men and women in suits walk by on their way to meetings.
Runners thump past in either direction.
The 23-year-old apparel design major at the elite Rhode Island School of Design unwinds along the river nearly every day. She takes classes in the expansive red-brick school buildings that line the banks.
"I think it is the rivers combined with the benches and parkways; it is a nice area," said the New Hampshire native. "I think it is nice to look at, and calming."
In a 1930 Supreme Court opinion, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: "A river is more than an amenity; it is a treasure." In Fort Wayne, river prominence is immortalized by the name of the city's most popular annual gathering, the Three Rivers Festival. Downtown's high-rise residential complex is Three Rivers Apartments. You can even find a new chopper at River City Harley-Davidson on Coldwater Road. The influence of the Maumee, St. Marys and St. Joe rivers on the city is undeniable.
In Providence, where 31 Fort Wayne city and business leaders will study river development for three days later this week, the rivers have become at best a huge nighttime attraction during WaterFire, a public-art display, and at minimum a scenic jogging trail and lunchtime destination.
During an average day, crowds are sparse along the banks of Providence's three rivers. Construction of a $100 million condominium project along scenic Waterplace Park is ongoing. Occasional midday kayakers slowly paddle upstream.
At lunchtime and into the evening, the banks become more active. Linda DeAngelis of Warwick, a town just outside Providence, is an academic adviser at Johnson & Wales University west of the river downtown. Each day the sun shines, she makes the short trip to the riverbank and buries herself in a novel.
"It's soothing. It's a feel-good thing," she said about the rivers. "I think it is someplace for people to go, something to be proud of, and it brings tourism in."
Much like Fort Wayne, people in Providence shun the idea of swimming in the rivers. A shopping cart can be seen through the murky water. Some city leaders claim the rivers are cleaner than in the past. The river is used more for aesthetic purposes than recreational, though that is changing.
Romantic gondola rides are popular in the evening, as are water taxis. Several nights each year, the city flocks downtown for WaterFire, a public-art display created by sculptor Barnaby Evans in which 97 braziers are set afire to music.
"For us, it is more of a night thing; that is where the attraction lies," said stockbroker Louis Murphy about the rivers.
Providence Mayor David Cicilline said the rivers have become an important center to the city.
"There is a very special relationship between human beings and sea, or waterways," Cicilline said. "People want to have the opportunity to be near the water. It is part of what is in our soul."
By the numbers
Providence
Population:160,264
Median age: 30
White: 50 percent
Black: 14 percent
Hispanic: 37 percent
Bachelor's degree or higher: 28 percent
Mean work travel time: 22 minutes
Median household income: $34,202
Providence County
Population: 610,539
Median age: 37
White: 75 percent
Black: 8 percent
Hispanic: 17 percent
Bachelor's degree or higher: 24 percent
Mean work travel time: 22 minutes
Median household income: $45,006
Fort Wayne
Population: 219,346
Median age: 33
White: 74 percent
Black: 16 percent
Hispanic: 8 percent
Bachelor's degree or higher: 22 percent
Mean work travel time: 20 minutes
Median household income: $38,063
Allen County
Population: 338,279
Median age: 35
White: 81 percent
Black: 12 percent
Hispanic: 5 percent
Bachelor's degree or higher: 24 percent
Mean work travel time: 20 minutes
Median household income: $45,356
Source: U.S. Census
Home prices
Median sales price of existing single-family homes for metropolitan areas, according to National Association of Realtors in 2005
Providence, New Bedford, Fall River, R.I.: $293,400
Fort Wayne: $102,300
Weather in Providence:
Average high temperature in July: 83 degrees
Average high temperature in January: 37 degrees
Weather in Fort Wayne
Average high temperature in July: 84 degrees
Average high temperature in January: 31 degrees
Source: www.weather.com
