Neighborhood in Providence · Providence County
Federal Hill
Federal Hill pairs Atwells Avenue’s food shops and restaurants with residential streets around Broadway.
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DePasquale Square’s fountain and surrounding buildings — June 17, 2019.
DePasquale Square’s fountain and surrounding buildings — June 17, 2019.
Creator: Kenneth C. Zirkel
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Changes: Commons supplied a resized image; converted to WebP for publication. Display layouts may crop the image.
Broadway housing, Atwells food shops and family services
About Federal Hill
Federal Hill pairs Atwells Avenue’s food shops and restaurants with residential streets around Broadway. Its housing includes older buildings converted to apartments, while DePasquale Square and services at Federal Hill House provide other neighborhood destinations.
Apartments in Broadway’s older buildings
Federal Hill’s housing extends beyond Atwells Avenue. Broadway’s nineteenth-century buildings include former large houses that the city describes as subdivided into apartments or converted to professional and commercial uses. Its residential character sits alongside the neighborhood’s better-known restaurant corridor.
Broadway is within Federal Hill, west of downtown. The locally designated Broadway Historic District covers a specific preservation area: alterations to properties in local historic districts require commission review. The linked city maps show where that designation applies.
Atwells shops provide food to take home
Tony’s Colonial at 311 Atwells Avenue sells meats, cheeses, pasta, olive oils, antipasti and prepared food. Venda Ravioli’s current store contact page lists 275 Atwells Avenue, with deli pickup and delivery available through its website.
Venda publishes store hours of 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday and 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday. Those hours were checked October 19, 2026; they describe the food shop, separately from the associated restaurant.
Atwells Avenue’s Route 92 connection
RIPTA’s published Route 92 map follows Atwells Avenue through Federal Hill. Atwells & Dean is a timetable reference point, with Kennedy Plaza toward downtown and Eagle Square and Rhode Island College to the west. The operator’s Winter 2026 system map also lists Route 92 service to Rhode Island College.
Childcare on Courtland Street and food support on Swiss Street
Federal Hill House’s Early Learning Center is at 9 Courtland Street and serves children from six weeks to five years. It publishes Monday–Friday hours of 7 a.m.–5:15 p.m., with enrollment generally limited to nine hours per day. The center accepts Rhode Island Child Care Assistance Program payments; enrollment and assistance eligibility need to be arranged with the provider.
Its Food Center is a separate service at 35 Swiss Street, open Tuesday–Friday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. It offers free food twice a month to households in ZIP codes 02909, 02908, 02903, 02907 and 02905. The pantry entrance is at the rear of the building. Service details were checked October 19, 2026.
DePasquale Square at the center of the business corridor
DePasquale Square provides a recognizable gathering point among Atwells Avenue’s shops and restaurants. The photograph shows the fountain, surrounding brick buildings and outdoor tables in June 2019.
The commerce association describes outdoor music during warmer months. The square can be an active destination during those events; the dated photograph shows its physical setting.
Check these on a visit
Try these in person before you commit to an address in Federal Hill.
- Walk Broadway’s residential blocks and the Atwells shopfronts.
- Locate the Atwells & Dean bus stop on the published Route 92 map.
- Find the Courtland Street early-learning center and Swiss Street food pantry.
Neighborhoods and districts near Federal Hill
The closest neighborhoods and districts in Providence, measured center to center.
1.0 miWest EndProvidence’s West End includes nineteenth-century houses around the Armory Historic District, Urban Greens on Cranston Street and recreation facilities on Bucklin Street.
1.5 miCollege HillCollege Hill rises above the Providence River, with historic houses around Benefit Street and Brown and RISD campuses nearby.
Sources & data notesReferences, reporting periods, and how to use this information
Information on this page is compiled from multiple sources and provided for general information. It may be incomplete or out of date, and we do not guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Independently verify important details with the original source, relevant authority, or a qualified professional before making decisions.
Statistics keep their reporting periods. Survey estimates are not current asking prices or quotes for an individual property. Displayed values are rounded.
- Broadway housing, apartment conversions and local historic-district reviewCity of Providence — Broadway Historic DistrictSource checked
- 311 Atwells Avenue food shop and productsTony’s Colonial Food StoreSource checked
- 275 Atwells Avenue store address and regular hoursVenda Ravioli — location and hoursSource checked
- Route map linking Atwells & Dean, Kennedy Plaza, Eagle Square and Rhode Island CollegeRIPTA — Route 92 published timetableSource checked
- Route 92 and citywide network connectionsRIPTA — Winter 2026 system mapSource checked
- 9 Courtland Street, ages served, hours, daily enrollment limit and childcare assistanceFederal Hill House — Early Learning CenterSource checked
- 35 Swiss Street, pantry hours, ZIP codes served and visit limitsFederal Hill House — Food PantrySource checked
- Atwells businesses and DePasquale SquareFederal Hill Commerce Association — visitingSource checked
- Photograph location, creator, capture date and reuse licenseKenneth C. Zirkel — DePasquale Fountain photographSource checked
Photo credits
- DePasquale Square’s fountain and surrounding buildings — June 17, 2019.Image credits and license
DePasquale Square’s fountain and surrounding buildings — June 17, 2019.
Creator: Kenneth C. Zirkel
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Changes: Commons supplied a resized image; converted to WebP for publication. Display layouts may crop the image.
- Triple-decker houses on Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island.Image credits and license
Creator: Kenneth C. Zirkel
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Changes: Resized and converted to WebP; may be cropped to fit the display