Market Square — Postscript

Market Square was a center for commerce, news, gossip and public meetings in Providence for well over a century. The newspaper that would come to be named The Providence Journal was first distributed here. During the Civil War, officials stood in the square and drew names out of a wheel for the military draft. Today, Market Square hosts a section of Providence's "Waterfire" celebration. The top photo was taken sometime around 1896 and the bottom was taken in 2018. Notice the Banigan Building (labeled "Amica Building" today) is the only recognizable landmark. All other buildings have been razed and new ones built in their place.