East Side

The East Side is one of the most sought-after places to live in Providence due to all that it has to offer its residents. Different from the municipality of East Providence, the East Side is a collection of neighborhoods in the municipality of Providence, including College Hill, Fox Point, Elmgrove, Wayland Square, Blackstone, Mt. Hope, Summit, and others immediately east of downtown (hence the name of this collection of neighborhoods). The East Side offers exquisite housing stock, primarily from the Victorian to the Arts & Crafts eras of architecture, but where you can also find early 19th century antiques, mid-century modern gems, and even the rare new construction. These eras of architecture encompass a mix of luxury estates, upper-middle class single families, starter homes, entry-level condominiums, investment properties, including rental apartments. Prices range anywhere from $300,000 to over $3,000,000. And each neighborhood within the East Side offers its own amenities from restaurants to retail to everyday needs. The East Side is also home to both Brown University and The Rhode Island School of Design, which means a plethora of erudition, arts, and cultural outlets and opportunities.

What’s To Love

• The East Side is home to Providence’s finest collection of historically and architecturally significant homes and buildings;
• With its lush, tree-lined boulevards and sidewalks, the East Side is as comfortable as it is beautiful;
• Not only does the East Side have an award-winning restaurant and cocktail scene, but also has its fair share of specialty bakeries, coffee-shops, cheese shops, plus several grocery stores and a robust weekly farmer’s market;
• Easy access to interstates 195 and 95, including the railway Downtown, the East Side is attractive to both local professionals working downtown and Boston commuters;
• The East Side offers many diverse public and private schools and religious choices, and is considered to be an extremely inclusive and progressive community;
• The East Side prides itself in its outdoor amenities, including municipal parks, tot lots, dog parks, bike paths, bridges and riverways where enthusiasts can stroll, bike, jog, and even cross-country ski during snow days;
• The East Side is also surrounded by water on three sides, making everything from sailing to kayaking water skiing to sculling to fishing possible.

Things To Do

• Try the East Side’s best beer and burgers at The Ivy Tavern, located within the Hope Village commercial district at the edge of the Mt. Hope and Summit neighborhoods;
• Take a stroll down Blackstone Boulevard, formerly a trolley line but is now an exquisitely landscaped two-mile park with gardens and benches and crushed stone path;
• Wickenden Street is the East Side’s southernmost commercial district, which due to its proximity to Brown and RISD means a younger and grittier feel to its shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes;
• While on Wickenden, extend your journey across the I-195 bridge to the 19-acre India Point Park, the East Side’s only park at the edge of Narraganset Bay, where you can picnic, jungle-jim with the kids, fish for a striped bass, or just while away the afternoon watching the boats pass;
• Lower South Main Street is the location of Plant City, the East Side’s 10,000 sqft vegetarian food hall, which is comprised of multiple restaurants/bars, coffee shop, grab-and-go shopping and offers indoor and outdoor seating;
• Love books? The East Side’s Wayland Square neighborhood has two of them, Paper Nautilus and Books on the Square, the first offering a more eclectic mix of well-curated used books and the latter catering more to new releases, gift items, and an amazing children’s section;
• East Siders love their Mexican food, ranging from Maiz and Diego’s in Wayland Square to faster food options on Thayer Street, but the best of the best is Dolores, which prides itself on its moles (the pistachio mole is unique and delicious), plus grilled meats (carne asada and octopus are standout)s, plus a wide selection of rare tequilas and mezcals;
• For cocktail culture, the top three are GLOU in the Fox Point neighborhood, the XO Bar off Benefit Street, and The Walnut Room in the South Main Street shopping district;
• Want a James Beard style fine-dining experience that is both unique and comfortable, Persimmon in the College Hill neighborhood is your best bet, where you can dine and cocktail it up at the long bar or host your crew at a big table in the open-kitchen dining room;
• Officially, there are two Dog Parks on the East Side, the Waterman Street Dog Park and the Gano Street Dog Park, but locals who love to let their dogs run off leash go to the Blackstone Park, accessed from Parkside Road just east of The Lincoln School;
• Whether you have research to do, wat to attend an amazing story hour with your kids, or just love historic architecture, The Providence Athaneum, the country’s oldest membership library dating back to the mid-1700s is worth a tour;
• Whether its donuts or bagels you want, PVD Donuts and the Eastside Bagel Company are just a few doors down from each other in the Elmgrove neighborhood;
• The Woonasquatucket River rides the seams between the East Side and Downtown, and during summer Friday evenings hosts WaterFire, an internationally recognized art installation of 80 bonfires on the river and includes street performances, food vendors, and local artisans.