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1987 Map of Providence

Name: 1987 Topographic Map of Providence
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1987
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1987

About this map

Providence and its industrial suburbs are captured here during the late 1980s, revealing a landscape defined by the convergence of the Woonasquatucket River and Seekonk River. The urban core is anchored by the State Capitol and the academic campuses of Brown University and Providence College, while the surrounding residential fabric reaches out to established neighborhoods like Edgewood and Knightsville. Along the Providence River, the map details the maritime infrastructure of Providence Harbor and the Sassafras Pier, marking the transition from the city's dense street grid to the open waters of the bay.

Institutional and recreational spaces form significant anchors, from the expansive North Burial Ground and Swan Point Cemetery to the recreational corridors of Lincoln Woods State Park and Roger Williams Park. Transit networks, including Interstate 95 and the tracks of the Providence & Worcester RR, illustrate the era's regional connectivity. To the east, the landscape softens as it crosses the Tenmile River into Massachusetts, where several country clubs like Wannamoisett Country Club suggest the suburban development patterns of the late twentieth century.