Providence/Smith Hill

Smith Hill is a district in the northern area in Providence. Only a couple minutes from Federal Hill, Smith Hill provides a sense of entertainment and places to visit. Smith Hill is probably best known for its St Patrick's Parade and Bolivian Festival. Smith Hill has two main streets which are Chalkstone Ave and Smith St.

Get in

By public transportation

• RIPTA, ☏ +1 401 781-9400. Services across all of Rhode Island and throughout Providence. Buses 56 and 57 goes straight through the Smith Hill area. 

Get around

By bicycle

If you have a bike, you can go up and down Smith Hill with no problem. Everything is close by in Smith Hill, that a bike is perfect if you do not want to use a car.

See

• 1 The WaterFire Arts Center, 475 Valley Street, ☏ +1 401 443-5553. W-Su 10AM-5PM. Art studio. 

Do

• 1 Davis Park, 50 Raymond St. (at the beginning of Smith Hill). Davis Park is a great place for kids. Equipped with brand new playground equipments such as swings and slides, Davis park also has a basketball court, 3 baseball fields, and a track. 
• 2 Rogers Rec Center, 60 Camden Ave (next to Harry Kizarian Elementary School), ☏ +1 401 455-8854. Daily noon-9PM. It has a basketball and a swimming pool open in the summer. The basketball court is also known to hold events, volley ball tournaments, basketball tournaments and more. In the summer, the pool is open daily noon - 5PM. 

Events

• 3 Bolivian Festival, 244 Smith St, ☏ +1 401 274-9245. Held on August 15-16, the Bolivian Festival starts at St Patrick's Church and the parade ends in the ice rink downtown. The parade is a dedication to Virgen de Urkupiña. Saturday's time is 2PM through 9PM. Then, on Sunday, the fun begins at 2PM and lasts until 6PM. Free admission. 
• St. Patrick's Parade. A celebration of Irish heritage. It has been celebrated on Smith St. for more than 20 years, and takes up the entire street. The parade starts at noon. 

Buy

• 1 ALDI, 539 Smith Street. A discount grocery store. 

Eat

• 1 Mandarin Garden, 555 Chalkstone Ave, ☏ +1 401 751-0144. A Chinese restaurant right in the middle of Smith Hill. Although they do not deliver they serve fine authentic Chinese food. This small family owned restaurant, may get busy at times, so it is better that you call in rather than waiting inside for your food to be done. Cheap prices for big appetites. (updated Jan 2022)
• 2 Newport Creamery, 673 Smith Street, ☏ +1 401 351-4677. Su-Th 7AM-9PM, F Sa 7AM-10PM. This location is the only one left in the city of Providence. It has been around for quite a while and offers a friendly, family oriented eating environment. It is an Ice cream shop and grill in one so if you are in the mood for anything ranging from a good burger to fish and chips or a couple scoops of your favorite flavored ice cream all available for a decent price you should consider Newport Creamery. They are also known for their signature shake, the "Awful Awful" which means its awful big and awful good which is available in a variety of flavors. The restaurant also offers an outdoor walk-up window for those interested in enjoying the weather and still having good food or wanting to have their favorite frozen treat. 

Drink

• 2 Bradley's Café, 571 Admiral St. Located behind Providence College, Bradley's Café, aka Brad's, includes a full menu of beer along with a mixed variety of mixed drinks all at a fair price. This is a College hotspot on Thursdays so if that's not your crowd, Thursday may not be the night for you. Come down and enjoy a drink, watch a game, try the dance floor, or have a bite from the menu and bump elbows with the locals. +1 401 621-2891. 

Connect

• 1 Post Office, 351 Smith Street, ☏ +1 401 331-9253, fax: +1 401 751-0299. M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa 8AM-2PM. This postal office is compact. (updated Jan 2022)

Cope

• 2 Coin-Op Laundry Mat, 282 Smith St, ☏ +1 401 331-9562. The big washers are $3.25 for 20 minutes, and the smaller ones vary. The dryer is 25 cents = 8 minutes (50 cents = 16 minutes). This laundry mat only accepts quarters. You can make change at the front desk. (updated Jan 2022)

• 3 Fialho's Barbershop, 1017 Smith Street, ☏ +1 401 621-8054. With an old school vibe and quality barbers behind the chair this shop is sure to give more than just a good cut. If you're in the area be sure to stop by. (updated Jan 2022)

Go next

• 4 Fargnoli Park (on Smith St, between Sharon st and April st). This park offers a playground for the children, a baseball field for local little league team games, basketball courts for all ages, and in the summer time there is even a free water park sponsored by the city of Providence. This park is clean, well kept, easily accessible, has convenient parking, and is close to a Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Shop and gas station. It's on the Ripta bus 57 route.