page_title: History of Providence, Rhode Island
section_title: City Government
hierarchical_section_title: History of Providence, Rhode Island / City Government
caption_attribution_description: English: Market Square in 1844; Old Coffee House; Manufacturers' Hotel; the Old City Building (Market House). Franklin Hall. Franklin House. Hoppin Building. Engraving from "The Providence Plantations for 250 Years" (1886), p. 87.
context_page_description: The Rhode Island city of Providence has a nearly 400-year history integral to that of the United States, including significance in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the American Revolutionary War by providing leadership and fighting strength, quartering troops, and supplying goods to residents by circumventing the blockade of Newport. The city is also noted for the first bloodshed of the American Revolution in the Gaspée Affair. Additionally, Providence is notable for economic shifts, moving from trading to manufacturing; the decline of manufacturing devastated the city during the Great Depression, but the city eventually attained economic recovery through investment of public funds.
context_section_description: The seat of city government was located in the Market House from its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878. Market House is located in Market Square, which was the geographic and social center of the city. The city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city spent the next 30 years searching for a suitable location, resulting in what one historian calls "Providence's Thirty Years War," as the council bickered over where to situate the new building. The city offices moved into the Providence City Hall in 1878.
caption: Market Square was the center of civic life in the 19th Century, and Market House was home to the city council before City Hall was built.[5]
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