Silver Lake, Providence, Rhode Island

Silver Lake is a neighborhood in the western edge of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bordered by the Hartford neighborhood to the north, Route 10 to the east, and separated from Olneyville by Route 6.

Like Federal Hill, Silver Lake has traditionally been an Italian-American neighborhood.

History

Settlement in Silver Lake began after the completion of the Plainfield Road to Plainfield, Connecticut in 1710. Framers settled the area shortly afterwards. Isolated from the rest of Providence, some sought to secede from Providence before the town of Johnston, Rhode Island annexed Silver Lake in 1759. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/Neighborhoods/slake.html Providence Neighborhoods: Silver Lake ] ]

Suburban development in the nineteenth century led Providence to reacquire Silver Lake in 1898. Afterwards, Silver Lake witnessed its most significant period of development in the early twentieth century prior to the Great Depression. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/Neighborhoods/slake.html Providence Neighborhoods: Silver Lake ] ]

Demographics

In 1990, nearly 43% of Silver Lake residents claimed some Italian ancestry. That same census showed that about 7% of Silver Lake's residents Hispanic, 2.3% were Asian, and 2% were African-American. Median family income in Silver Lake was $27,736, about 2% lower than the citywide average. 16 % of families lived in poverty. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/Neighborhoods/slake.html Providence Neighborhoods: Silver Lake ] ]

According to the Providence Plan, the white and Hispanic populations are nearly equal. 42.2% of Silver Lake residents are white and 41.8% are Hispanic. 9.4% of residents are African-American, and 4% are Asian. 59% of children under the age of six speak a language other than English as their primary language. [ [http://204.17.79.244/profiles/slk_main.html Silver Lake ] ]

The median family income is $27,981, below the citywide average of $32,058. 28% of families in poverty while 15% receive some form of public assistance. 18% of children under the age of six have been exposed to high levels of lead. [ [http://204.17.79.244/profiles/slk_main.html Silver Lake ] ]

Government

Most of silver Lake is within Ward 7, which is represented in the Providence City Council by Democrat John J. Igliozzi. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/CityCouncil/ward7/ward7.php Providence City Council - Phone: [phone] ] ] A portion of eastern Silver Lake is within Ward 15, represented by Josephine DiRuzzo, the City Council's President Pro Tempore. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/CityCouncil/ward15/ward15.php Providence City Council - Phone: [phone] ] ]

Parks

Neutaconkanut Park occupied most of Silver Lake between Plainfield Street and the border with Johnston. It is a 73 acre park of forest and walking trails. [ [http://www.citywidegreen.org/parkFinder/neighborhoods.php?neighborhoods=17 Citywide Green ] ]

There are three small parks near the intersection of Silver Lake and Pocasset Avenue. They are:

*Cerbo Square is a memorial on Murray Street near the intersection of Murray and Silver Lake Avenue.
*Scalabrini Piazza on Silver Lake Avenue is the site of a bell tower at the former site of St Bartholomew Church (now located 1/3 mile away, atop Laurel Hill).
*Silver Lake Memorial Park is a small war memorial at the corner of Pocasset Avenue and Union Avenue. [ [http://www.citywidegreen.org/parkFinder/neighborhoods.php?neighborhoods=17 Citywide Green ] ]

References

[http://www.providenceri.com/Neighborhoods/slake.html Silver Lake on Providence Neighborhood Profiles]