Special Library Collections

by Nini Stoddard

Providence boasts over a dozen Special Collections libraries, so classified because of their unique research holdings. These institutions collect and preserve rare, unique, and primary source research materials. The earliest Special Collection was created in 1836 from the combined libraries of the Providence Library Company [...]

First and Future Health Labs

by Nini Stoddard

Providence boasts a number of Firsts in the Nation. We’ll be featuring a few on occasion. Here is our first of the firsts: In 1888, the first municipal health laboratory in the United States was established in Providence. Charles V. Chapin (1856 –1941) was its [...]

Theatres

by Nini Stoddard

With the official closing of the Columbus Theatre on Broadway on June 9, one can hear the sad sighs of “ah, yet another theatre closes.” Indeed, how many theatres in Providence have closed in the last 50 or 100 years? Over the century, Providence theatres [...]