Wayland

Wayland is a residential neighborhood located on the Providence's East Side. Most of its development took place during the early and mid- 20th century. The houses are architecturally and functionally similar to those constructed on College Hill during the 18th and 19th centuries. Wayland also contains the city's most significant concentration of elegant apartment buildings, which were all built shortly after 1900, and also is home to the Red Bridge, the first bridge over the Seekonk River linking Providence with East Providence. Wayland is home to Wayland Park, one of the larger parks on the East Side, and which will be linked with the surrounding area through the development of a bicycle path along the Seekonk River.

Originally, the Wayland area was not geographically inviting for colonial settlement. Given its proximity to the Seekonk River, much of the land was marshy and not suitable for development. During the middle years of the 19th century, Wayland began to develop as a middle and upper-income residential neighborhood. In 1856, the Cold Spring Plat extended from the Wayland neighborhood to include the area south of Angell Street. Although several cottages were built after the platting, the area's remoteness discouraged growth.

The land south of Upton Avenue had been completely platted by the end of the Civil War but few houses were built before the 1890s. Development was concentrated eastward from College Hill in the Waterman-Angell corridor and to a lesser degree, along Olney Street and Morris Avenue. Before the 1880s, residents commuted between the Wayland area and downtown Providence either by carriage or public horse car along a circuitous route from downtown through Fox Point to Butler Avenue. In 1884 a second line along Waterman and Angell Streets was completed.

In the early 1900s, the Wayland area became the site for the construction of numerous apartment buildings. The earliest of these buildings was constructed during the first decade of the 20th century along Medway Street. By 1940, there were apartment buildings on Waterman and Angell streets, and Lloyd, and Wayland Avenues. Some of these buildings, including the Excelsior Apartments, remain architecturally magnificent.

One of the most significant features of Wayland since World War II has been the continued development of commercial activity in Wayland Square. Encompassing parts of Medway Street, Waterman Street, Angell Street, Wayland Square has been a Providence commercial center since the early 20th century. In the 1970s and 1980s, more retail shops opened in the Square. Development has encouraged Wayland Square merchants to form an association. In 1990, the merchant association began working with the city Department of Planning & Development to improve commercial activity. Planned improvements include more parking space, landscaped sidewalks, and additional street lighting.

The 2000 Census recorded 3,356 persons living in the Wayland neighborhood, a rise of 1.6 percent from 1990. About 85% of Wayland residents are white, 7 percent are Asian, 3 percent are African American, and 3 percent Hispanic, according to the 2000 census. In 2000, nearly all (94%) persons living in Wayland 25 years or older had received their high school degree and 79% had a college degree or higher. Two thirds (68%) of all employed residents in Wayland worked in management, professional, and related occupations. The unemployment rate in 2000 for Wayland residents (2%) was a fraction of the citywide figure of 9.3 percent and a third of the 1990 Wayland unemployment rate.

Median family income in Wayland in 1999 was $95,697, almost three times the median reported for Providence. About one in five persons in Wayland was living below the poverty level in 2000. The incidence of poverty among families and children in Wayland over the past decade. The proportion of families living in poverty increased from 2.7 percent in 1990 to 4 percent in 2000 and the percent of children below poverty increased sharply from 2.2 percent to 9.8%. The poverty rate for elderly person also increased slightly, rising from 6.8 percent in 1990 to 7.4% in 2000.

Housing tenure in Wayland remained stable between 1990 and 2000. The proportion of owner-occupied housing units increased 5.4 percent from 1990 to 2000 comprising 25.5 percent of all units. Rental units increased three perscent, representing 74.5 percent of all units. Almost half (45%) of all housing units in Wayland were located in structures with five or more units. About one in five housing units in Wayland is a single-family unit. Despite its relatively recent development compared to other neighborhoods in the city, the housing stock in Wayland is fairly old, with nine out of ten housing units constructed more than 40 years ago.

The median residential sales price in Wayland in 2000 was $357,500, 38.5% higher than the median value reported for Providence. Median rents in Wayland were 26 percent higher than the citywide median. Four out of ten Wayland residents moved into their present housing unit within the past five years, according to the 2000 Census; about a third had lived in his or her present unit for more than 10 years.
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Sources: Wayland: 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).