College Hill Targeted With Graffiti, City of Providence Unresponsive

College Hill Targeted With Graffiti, City of Providence Unresponsive

The lower part of College Hill has been scarred by graffiti. The tagging has been relentless — historic buildings, multi-million dollar new apartment complexes — everything has been damaged.

Despite repeated calls to Providence City Hall, shop owners and property owners have told GoLocal that the city has failed to address the problems. Much of the graffiti is months old.

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The area is home to upscale restaurants like Mills Tavern, the burger bar Harry's, historic office buildings and the new $40 million Edge at College Hill apartments.

In just a two-block area — Thomas Street to Park Row — GoLocal found more than 40 graffiti tags on nearly every building.

 

SLIDES: SEE PHOTOS BELOW

 

The historic Wayland Building adjacent to the National Park Service’s Roger Williams National Memorial  — one of Rhode Island’s only federal park properties in Rhode Island — has been covered with graffiti for more than a month.

A National Park Service report shows that 51,523 visitors to Roger Williams National Memorial in 2014 spent $2,889,600 in communities near the park. The spending supported 43 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit of $3,988,100 to the local economy. 

Shop owners and landlords tell GoLocal that they have repeatedly contacted the city’s 331 service and called Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office but to no avail.

 

 

 

Once 4th Most Beautiful Neighborhood in America

The College Hill neighborhood in Providence is the fourth most beautiful in America, according to a ranking list published by the lifestyle website Thrillist.com. The historic area is one of the top tourist attractions in the state.

College Hill’s high ranking is credited largely to the iconic buildings that make up the neighborhood. Thrillist writes:

The College Hill section of Providence is a living timeline of architectural motifs: from the 18th century Georgian-style Old State House, to the 19th century Greek Revival Providence Athenaeum library, to the modern, boxy design of Brown University's Granoff Center for Creative Arts. It sounds like a lot, because it is. But that's a good thing.

And then there's Thomas Street, a tiny avenue dominated on one side by four colorful, historic structures that collectively house the Providence Art Club, and on the other by the creepy-yet-gorgeous First Baptist Church in America -- so named because it is literally the oldest Baptist church congregation in the country. It's no wonder H.P. Lovecraft was obsessed with this place.

 

City of Providence

The city's website claims,"Graffiti is a public nuisance and destructive of the rights and values of property owners as well as the entire community. Unless residents take action to remove graffiti from public and private property, the graffiti remains."

"Public Property manages clean up on surfaces including brick, cement, concrete, wood, asphalt, and vinyl siding, as well as mechanical and traffic control boxes. We cannot abate graffiti on vehicles, traffic signs, or murals. If you wish to report graffiti on traffic signs (ex. Stop sign) please contact the Department of Public Works," according to the City.

Efforts to reach the City's Public Works Department were unsuccessful.