William Hamilton
@waham.bsky.social
Managing editor at Providence Business News. Ex-ProJo staffer. Often posting on quirky, little-noticed stuff in the Biggest Little State, as well as local real estate development, architecture, history and business. I ride bikes.
Pomfret Vt.: "When the ... colors start to pop, the road is suddenly clogged with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of cars, parked haphazardly. Tour buses come, spilling out passengers with cameras ... visitors often walk brazenly onto private property ... setting out picnics on the sprawling fields."
October 9, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Pomfret Vt.: "When the ... colors start to pop, the road is suddenly clogged with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of cars, parked haphazardly. Tour buses come, spilling out passengers with cameras ... visitors often walk brazenly onto private property ... setting out picnics on the sprawling fields."
According to Chat GPT (although notoriously inaccurate):
August 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM
According to Chat GPT (although notoriously inaccurate):
New but unfinished bike path along Kingsley Ave. and the Woonasquatucket River in Providence. Kingsley no longer a two way street.
August 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
New but unfinished bike path along Kingsley Ave. and the Woonasquatucket River in Providence. Kingsley no longer a two way street.
Afternoon thunderstorm rolling through Providence today…
July 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Afternoon thunderstorm rolling through Providence today…
Downed trees along the East Bay Bike Path, including this that requires riders to carry their bikes over the trunk just south of the Squantum Club
July 5, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Downed trees along the East Bay Bike Path, including this that requires riders to carry their bikes over the trunk just south of the Squantum Club
Long before "Cooler and Warmer" and "All That," Rhode Island's tourism and economic development slogan in 1960...
June 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Long before "Cooler and Warmer" and "All That," Rhode Island's tourism and economic development slogan in 1960...
Maybe the strangest named place in R.I. that doesn't exist anymore:
Starve Goat Island
In the 20th century, landfill on the Providence River made the island disappear. At one time, that area had the most productive oyster beds in the East.
Save the Bay HQ sits where Starve Goat Island was.
Starve Goat Island
In the 20th century, landfill on the Providence River made the island disappear. At one time, that area had the most productive oyster beds in the East.
Save the Bay HQ sits where Starve Goat Island was.
June 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Maybe the strangest named place in R.I. that doesn't exist anymore:
Starve Goat Island
In the 20th century, landfill on the Providence River made the island disappear. At one time, that area had the most productive oyster beds in the East.
Save the Bay HQ sits where Starve Goat Island was.
Starve Goat Island
In the 20th century, landfill on the Providence River made the island disappear. At one time, that area had the most productive oyster beds in the East.
Save the Bay HQ sits where Starve Goat Island was.
We've largely failed on the "What Comes Next" part of this article: a concrete maintenance plan. Not one flex-post remains standing on Manton Ave (daunting to ride against traffic in an unprotected bike lane). And it's been that way for a year. Flex-posts along South Water St. are disappearing too.
June 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
We've largely failed on the "What Comes Next" part of this article: a concrete maintenance plan. Not one flex-post remains standing on Manton Ave (daunting to ride against traffic in an unprotected bike lane). And it's been that way for a year. Flex-posts along South Water St. are disappearing too.
Providence life hack No. 97:
If you like cherries, now is the time to pick some fresh ones at Davis Park. There are about 5 trees that have beautiful cherries. Just leave some for others.
If you like cherries, now is the time to pick some fresh ones at Davis Park. There are about 5 trees that have beautiful cherries. Just leave some for others.
June 25, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Providence life hack No. 97:
If you like cherries, now is the time to pick some fresh ones at Davis Park. There are about 5 trees that have beautiful cherries. Just leave some for others.
If you like cherries, now is the time to pick some fresh ones at Davis Park. There are about 5 trees that have beautiful cherries. Just leave some for others.
A hot day in early summer and Dari Bee is closed in Riverside Square. Is there any hope?
June 23, 2025 at 12:02 AM
A hot day in early summer and Dari Bee is closed in Riverside Square. Is there any hope?
A cool new canoe landing on Kinsley Ave across the Woonasquatucket River from US Rubber Lofts is pretty much finished.
June 21, 2025 at 12:56 AM
A cool new canoe landing on Kinsley Ave across the Woonasquatucket River from US Rubber Lofts is pretty much finished.
A cruise ship boarding in Providence Harbor for an 8-day trip along the southern New England coast and islands…
June 21, 2025 at 12:54 AM
A cruise ship boarding in Providence Harbor for an 8-day trip along the southern New England coast and islands…
Things you notice in Providence on a beautiful Friday commute home: that ugly chainlink fence at India Point is finally gone. The work is complete, I think…
June 21, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Things you notice in Providence on a beautiful Friday commute home: that ugly chainlink fence at India Point is finally gone. The work is complete, I think…
Protesters on the move up Empire St. in Providence at 6:40 pm tonight…
June 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Protesters on the move up Empire St. in Providence at 6:40 pm tonight…
Protest outside Providence’s Doorley Municipal Building on Empire St. at about 6 pm today…
June 9, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Protest outside Providence’s Doorley Municipal Building on Empire St. at about 6 pm today…
5 years ago today, downtown Providence businesses boarded up, fearing a repeat of widespread vandalism, looting that had happened a few nights earlier after George Floyd's death. So much plywood that Westminster St. smelled like a Home Depot.
June 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
5 years ago today, downtown Providence businesses boarded up, fearing a repeat of widespread vandalism, looting that had happened a few nights earlier after George Floyd's death. So much plywood that Westminster St. smelled like a Home Depot.
Snapping turtle finds its place in the sun along the Blackstone River Bikeway in Lincoln. They can live 50 years or more. This guy is maybe middle-aged, and he looked at me like, 'Just try to move me. I'll take your finger off.'
May 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Snapping turtle finds its place in the sun along the Blackstone River Bikeway in Lincoln. They can live 50 years or more. This guy is maybe middle-aged, and he looked at me like, 'Just try to move me. I'll take your finger off.'
Was a little surprised to see The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg appear on "Meet the Press" today with the Providence skyline over his right shoulder. What brings him to R.I. today?
March 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Was a little surprised to see The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg appear on "Meet the Press" today with the Providence skyline over his right shoulder. What brings him to R.I. today?
The 195 District Commission tonight selected the Design Center Partners plan for Parcel 5 in Providence... Initial proposal: 200 residential units (5% workforce) 50,000sf Art & Design Center, "porous, walkable arrangement with both exterior storefronts and an inner pedestrian street."
March 12, 2025 at 11:38 PM
The 195 District Commission tonight selected the Design Center Partners plan for Parcel 5 in Providence... Initial proposal: 200 residential units (5% workforce) 50,000sf Art & Design Center, "porous, walkable arrangement with both exterior storefronts and an inner pedestrian street."
When I was very young, I was convinced the president of the United States lived in Bristol at Guiteras Junior High (now an elementary school). After all, the road to it had a red, white and blue center stripe. It had to be the White House. I hear the school will be closing for good in June.
March 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
When I was very young, I was convinced the president of the United States lived in Bristol at Guiteras Junior High (now an elementary school). After all, the road to it had a red, white and blue center stripe. It had to be the White House. I hear the school will be closing for good in June.
You can literally see the Providence Journal printing press in action from the street...
March 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
You can literally see the Providence Journal printing press in action from the street...
Some R.I.-Canada exporting info put out by the Canadian Consulate in Boston last year with the tagline 'Friends, Partners, Allies' ... I believe scrap metal accounts for the biggest portion of that $487M
March 4, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Some R.I.-Canada exporting info put out by the Canadian Consulate in Boston last year with the tagline 'Friends, Partners, Allies' ... I believe scrap metal accounts for the biggest portion of that $487M
The center line on Smith St. in Providence has now been painted in Irish colors ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade this weekend. I don't recall ever seeing this done before on Smith St. in Elmhurst and Smith Hill.
March 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The center line on Smith St. in Providence has now been painted in Irish colors ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade this weekend. I don't recall ever seeing this done before on Smith St. in Elmhurst and Smith Hill.