Reservoir

The area known as the Reservoir Triangle is primarily a residential neighborhood located in the southwestern quadrant of Providence, bounded by the city of Cranston on the west, Narragansett Avenue to the east, and Sinclair Avenue to the south.

The first residents of the Reservoir Triangle were the Narragansett Indians who had a village on the shores of Mashapaug Pond, most likely near the pond outlet behind where the Jewel Case warehouse is now located. This area was part of Roger Williams' original purchase from the Narragansetts in 1636. During the War of 1812, Mashapaug Pond was the western terminus of a line of entrenchment set up from Field's Point across the southern end of Providence in case of attack by a land force. During the last part of the 19th century, Mashapaug Pond was the scene of numerous society parties. The area remained mostly undeveloped farmland until the mid-19th century when new roads were established, including Reservoir Avenue and Elmwood Avenue, which provided access to downtown Providence.

Some of the earliest known industries in the area included a 600-spindle cotton mill established in the early 1800s and a massive ice-making operation on the north shore of Mashapaug Pond founded as early as 1820. The industry that was most influential in the development of this area was the Gorham Manufacturing Company on Adelaide Avenue, built in 1889. Many of the skilled silversmiths and jewelry specialists employed by Gorham built houses between Reservoir Avenue and Mashapaug Pond, making it a thriving residential neighborhood. The other side of Reservoir Avenue, the east side, did not see development until the start of the 20th century.

When Cranston was in the process of establishing itself in 1767, the Reservoir section of Providence was annexed along with South Providence, South Elmwood, and parts of Elmwood and Washington Park. Between 1873 and 1892 in a series of political maneuvers to protect the Republican agrarian interests of Cranston, these sections were annexed back to Providence, which was already dominated by the Democratic Party in the 19th century.

In the 1870s, a reservoir was built at Sockanosset Crossroads in Cranston. It was the first great engineering project of the City of Providence. To be able to have water piped to one's house from this reservoir was the symbol of modernity. The reservoir became a catalyst for residential development in the area. Soon after its completion, a road was built which became a direct line of communication with the reservoir and one of the first highways out of town into the open countryside.

This road, appropriately named "Reservoir Avenue," was unique because it was not built over older paths. The avenue was laid out directly to its destination and was an example of a long straight road. Reservoir Avenue begins by branching from Elmwood Avenue at Columbus Circle, passes numerous governmental facilities and shopping malls, and eventually reaches the southern Rhode Island community of Charlestown, near Westerly and the Connecticut border.

During the late 1920s, a new reservoir was built with the damming of the Pawtuxet River to the west of the city in the town of Scituate. The old water supply in Sockanosset fell into disuse and was soon abandoned. Reservoir Avenue, however, remains the main thoroughfare for the residents of the Reservoir community.

Today, the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood is a stable community with relatively high owner occupancy rates (57% in 2000). Buttressed by Mashapaug Pond and the large and currently vacant Gorham Manufacturing site to the northwest, and Roger Williams Park on the east, the residents have the ideal combination of being near suburban shopping centers, and recreational parks, as well as downtown Providence.

The 2000 census reported 2,963 residents living in the Reservoir neighborhood, a 16.4 percent rise from 1990. Between 1990 and 2000 the nonwhite share of the population increased from 25.7 percent in 1990 to 59.5 percent in 2000. In 2000, 15.4 percent of the population was Asian, 16.6 percent was African American, and 22.6 percent was Hispanic. In 2000, about a third of all residents were foreign born. Nearly seven out of ten residents of age 25 or older (67%) had completed requirements for a high school degree in 2000. Manufacturing and educaiton, health and social services were the major sources of employment for Reservoir residents in 2000, each accounting for about one-fifth of all jobs. The unemployment rate in Reservoir in 2000 was 7 percent, slighly less than the citywide rate of 9.3 percent.

The median family income in Reservoir in 1999 was $41,202, 22 percent higher than the citywide median family income. Poverty declined in Reservoir for Blacks and Asians but increased for all other groups between 1990 and 2000. Overall, about one in ten (13%) persons was poor, one in ten (10%) families was living below poverty, about one in five children (18.4%) were poor, and the proportion of elderly that were poor was 14 percent, more than double the 1990 rate for elderly persons.

Reservoir continued to have one of the city's highest proportions of owner-occupied housing in 2000, although the proportion of owner-occupied housing units declined slightly between 1990 and 2000, falling from 61.7 percent in 1990 to 57 percent in 2000, which was still a net gain of a 4% increase in owners. Over half (55%) of all housing units in Reservoir are located in single-family units.

There is a very small percentage of housing units in buildings with five or more units (4%). Three out of four housing units were built more than 40 years ago. The median residential sales value in Reservoir in 2004 was $202,500, 8 percent lower than the citywide median. The median rent in Reservoir was 14 percent higher than the citywide median. According to the 2000 census, a third of all residents in Reservoir lived in their present housing units for more than 10 years, while a third also moved to Reservoir within the last five years.
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Sources: Reservoir: Neighborhood Analysis, Department of Planning and Urban Development (City of Providence, 1977) and Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, edited by William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson (Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986).