Peoples' history: Neighbors helped rebuild North Main's past from memory.
About 30 Summit and Mount Hope neighbors gathered at the Carriage House Theater on Sept. 23 for an evening of North Main Street history from Mack Woodward of the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission and Dr. Robert Cvornyek, Chairman of the History Department at Rhode Island College.
Mack traced the structural and commercial evolution of the North Main corridor. Rob filled us in on the story of the Providence Steam Roller, the 1928 National Football League Champions.
From there, unofficial neighborhood historian Stanley Crum led off a general discussion with his memories of the Celebrity Club, an integrated jazz venue at the site of the current Charlesgate apartments on North Main.
Neighbors recalled a very different World War II era North Main. The historically black East Side neighborhood ran along Benefit Street and across the site of the current University Heights and Mt. Hope areas. North Main offered thriving stores, restaurants and entertainment options all the way to the Pawtucket line.
We thank Dorothy Jungels and the Everett Dance Theater for use of their Carriage House Theater location, a hidden treasure on Duncan Avenue and we urge all neighbors to check out their weekly neighborhood entertainment offerings.
Filed under: North Main Street Workshops | Tagged: Celebrity Club, East Side, North Main history. Providence Steam Roller | Leave a Comment »
