The city of Providence is the capital of Rhode Island State. It was among the first cities to be established in America. Located within the County of Providence, it is the biggest city within Rhode Island State and the 3rd biggest in the New England region. The city itself has a modest population of roughly 178,000. However, it is the anchor city within the metropolitan statistical area (or likewise known as MSA), which has a population of 1.6 million. This makes it the 37th biggest metropolitan population in the United States. The MSA spills beyond the border of Rhode Island into southern Massachusetts.
Providence is quite small in terms of land area. It lies at the mouth of the Providence River on Narragansett Bay. The city is characterized by a demographic in flux and seemingly erratic streets.
Roger Williams was the city's founder. He was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious reasons. He founded the township in the year 1636, when he together with his followers settled along the Providence River. They named the community for the Providence of God, that Williams thought was responsible for giving him a new place to be able to create a community. Providence was referred to as the "Beehive of Industry," since it was one of the first cities within the United States to industrialize, producing jewelry and silverware. Manufacturing is still a very important sector in Providence, but the local economy has shifted to health care, education and service industries. Eight hospitals and seven educational institutions are situated within Providence. The city of Providence is seeking to be called today as the "Creative Capital".
As the capital of the state, government services are essential to the economy of Providence. The finance sector is also strong, with numerous smaller financial firms and some major financial companies located there. Citizen bank's headquarters are situated within Providence.
Manufacturing, jewelry, and silverware design are still vital businesses in the city of Providence. The manufacturing sector within Providence produces products like for instance rubber and plastic goods, instruments, fabricated metals and electrical equipment. Several businesses produce supplies for the military. Rhode Island encourages business by providing generous job training tax credits to companies. Fortune 500 company Textron and Fortune 1000 company Nortek Incorporated are headquartered in the city of Providence. The global head office for GTECH are also located here.
There is a really rich culture and arts sector within this modest-sized city. Amongst the top art schools in the US, referred to as the Rhode Island School of Design, is located in the city. The school also houses a fine Museum of Art. Additionally, Providence has the Providence Arts Center, Providence Children's Museum, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Roger Williams Park and Zoo, providence Dunkin' Donut Center and Trinity Repertory Company.
The city of Providence is also the site of the famed College of Culinary Arts, which is located on the campus of Providence's Johnson & Wales University. Graduates of the culinary school have founded various restaurants in Providence, giving Providence more eateries per capita than any other major city in the US.