Loading map...

1939 Map of Providence

Name: 1939 Topographic Map of Providence
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1939
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1939

About this map

Providence is depicted here as a dense urban center during the late 1930s, defined by its tightly packed neighborhoods and major institutional campuses. The city's intellectual and political heart is clearly visible, anchored by Brown University on the east side and the State Capitol overlooking the downtown area. The industrial heritage of the region is traced by the Woonasquatucket River, which winds through historic mill districts like Olneyville and Dyerville before meeting the salt water at Fox Point.

South of the city core, the landscape opens into the expansive Roger Williams Park and the residential tracts of Edgewood Beach and Auburn. This survey documents a critical period of infrastructure, showing the New York New Haven and Hartford RR lines and the heavy development along Reservoir Avenue. Large-scale social and religious sites, such as the North Burial Ground and the Franciscan Convent, illustrate the complex social fabric of the Rhode Island capital before the post-war era of suburban expansion.