6 Street

Our Final Script is a huge file, so we used "sendspace" to share it. You can download it from this link:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/n0pt5f

Fox Point Exhibit - The Street

Mariah Erlick, Sophie Lynford, Katharine Mead, and Mary Seem

REVISED LABELS:

Main label

What comes to mind when you think of "the street"? The place you drive your car? A rough neighborhood? Noisy traffic? To Fox Pointers, the streetscape was much more than a public thoroughfare; it was the connective tissue that helped turn a group of East Side houses into a robust and vibrant community. While many of the homes in Fox Point lacked spacious yards, the surrounding streets compensated as an environment where children could play and adults could catch up.

There are countless photographs with the Fox Point streets both as subject and background. Many of these images highlight the street as a "playground" for children; a space where adults allowed kids to amuse themselves. Yet the photos suggest that as years passed, Fox Pointers’ fondness for street interactions stayed strong. Play turned to gossip; the pavement a place to reconnect.

These photographs suggest a sense of pride in the Fox Point streets. A unifying force in the neighborhood, these streets served not only as the backdrop in photographs, but also as a consistent backdrop in Fox Pointers’ lives.

Kids

A playground, a ball field, a racetrack, a backyard - streets became all these things for Fox Point children. Friends constantly visited different homes, but when a mother's hospitality ran out they could always find something to do on the street. Children biked, skated, and even went sledding when the temperature dropped. This was the kids' territory, and they were largely left to their own devices to pass the time. However, a boy became everyone's son once he made an error that earned him multiple scoldings before he could even reach home. The streets were yet another venue where Fox Point's strong community thrived.

Adults

Kids have to grow up sometime! The affinity Fox Point children had for street activity didn’t go away with adulthood. South Main Street took center stage by uniting Fox Pointers in bridging the public and the private spheres. Mixing various shops, restaurants, and taverns, with residences, South Main Street was a tight-knit nucleus of activity. Adult presence was felt strongly on Sundays; Church-goers strolled along the streets after services in their "Sunday best," often in exodus to community dinners. It was this type of street mingling that earned South Main its nickname, the "Broadway of Providence."

Boys Club

During harsh Providence winters, boys jumped through sidewalk snow drifts and made their way to the Boys Club. In that large brick building, they knew they could find heat, showers, a library, and other amenities that Fox Point families might not have in their homes. But the youngest Fox Pointers also flocked to the Boys Club to socialize with their friends. They could play sports, dress up for Halloween parties, and splash in the only swimming pool in the neighborhood. The Boys Club created a sense of camaraderie and community that men who grew up in Fox Point still remember today.

Label for Truant Officer’s Book

Fox Point is often portrayed as an idyllic corner of Providence, however, the kids of Fox Point sometimes got into trouble with the law. This Truant Officer’s book contains accounts of various incidents ranging from stolen bikes to more serious offenses. However, in addition to the accounts of crime, the book also contains stories of the generosity of the Fox Point community towards the children of Fox Point. One page contains a letter written by Freddie Soares indicating his appreciation to Mr. Rezendes for running the Fox Point Boys Club. This book, with its detailed accounts, suggests the complex interaction between community resources, the law and the children of Fox Point.

Quotes from Oral Histories

"We had to make sure we were home before the [street]lights came on." -Joseph Cabral

"We would balance our bicycles with such care that hands raised from handlebars we managed to go for blocks, one behind the other, in a perfectly straight line. The best hill for riding was Thayer Street, where it meets Transit. One’s foot had always to be jammed hard between brake and shaft, for extra pressure." - Joseph Cabral

"The neighborhood kids did not have much but we had the Club. On holidays we were not forgotten..." -Joseph Cabral

"And you couldn’t go down the street without seeing somebody that knew your parents. And if you were doing something wrong, you was in trouble." - Joe Cruz

"The Boys’ Club closed at 8—if I wasn’t home at five minutes after 8, the guys said, “Joey, here comes your grandmother down the street.” " - Joe Cruz

"My, my big, greatest fun was going to the Boys Club. My, my big, greatest fun was going to the Boys Club." - Johnny Costa

"We played cowboys in the daytime and go chase girls at night." - Johnny Costa

“I’d say 90% of the kids I went to school with knew how to swim because of the boys clubs” - Malcolm Reis

“we could play on the street, all day and maybe about four, five cars would go by” - Malcolm Reis

“We used to play Buck Buck the White Horse, Kick the Can, and there seemed to always be around 10 or 20 kids, always around playing, so you never had to go look for playmates, and on Pike St., which is a short street, my brother counted over 200 kids playing on that street one day, so there were a lot of kids around, and I think I knew just about everybody, and everybody knew you, you know? So if you did have any problems, if you did something wrong, your parents would know before you got home, so you didn’t do anything wrong because you know that they would hear about it. And if someone told you something or slapped you or something, you wouldn’t tell your parents because they would slap you on top of that because they knew that you did something wrong.” - Malcolm Reis (too long, but good stuff)

“We played basketball down at the boys club; I think they had five teams in the ‘40s. They had a junior varsity, intermediate, varsity, and alumni, and a hundred-pound team.” - Malcolm Reis

April 1, 2009

Some language on the importance of the streets in the community:

The streetscape of Fox Point was much more than a public thoroughfare that led the way from point A to point B. It was the connective tissue that helped turn a group of houses on the East Side into a robust and vibrant community. While many of the houses in Fox Point did not have spacious yards, the surrounding streets compensated as an environment where children could play and adults could catch up.

Many of the homes Cape Verdeans settled into were along South Main and its adjoining streets. This grid united Fox Pointers by bridging the public and the private spheres. Mixing various shops, restaurants, and taverns, with residences, South Main Street was a tight-knit nucleus of activity where news traveled fast. Oftentimes, adults had a telescopic awareness of the streets’ happenings and an even further-reaching ability to communicate any child’s misstep.

There are countless photographs from the period of the Fox Point streets both as subject and background. Many of these images highlight the street as a “playground” for children to play baseball, ride bikes, or just hang out. While there are fewer images of adults participating in street-related activities, we can see them in processions to and from Church and Sunday dinner or standing proudly in front of houses or businesses.

Any absence of adult presence in these photographs of street activity speaks to the pavement as a play-place for children; a space where adults allowed their children to amuse themselves and were comfortable with them there. We must remember that his absence is not a true void as the people behind the cameras were likely the parents partaking in the social environment the streets fostered.

If we are to take anything from these photographs, it is that they suggest a sense of pride in the Fox Point streets. A unifying force in the neighborhood, these streets served not only as the backdrop in photographs, but also as a consistent backdrop in Fox Pointers’ lives.

The Boys' Club:

After school, young boys often spent times with friends at the Boys' Club. The Boys' Club organized sports teams, a library, homework space, a swimming pool, and seasonal parties. Boys spent more time at the Boys' Club during harsh Providence winters, when the street was too cold to provide entertainment. Most Fox Point boys were members of the Boys' Club, although membership cost about twenty-five cents per year– a significant sum for some Fox Point families. The Boys' Club created a sense of camaraderie and community that boys who grew up in Fox Point still remember today.

Children's activities in the street:

In Fox Point, close proximity and constant socialization made for the closest of communities. Children especially benefited from the network of homes where the door was always open and food was always just coming out of the oven. Friends scampered from house to house, and the street was where the kids could always find something to do when a mother's hospitality ran out. The street was an urban playground. Ball games, bikes and scooters, or simple stoop seats were ubiquitous. Play could also be rebellious - a common destination was the large, fenced-in lawns of private Brown University buildings where Fox Pointers would play until told to leave. The streets of Fox Point provided a haven where a child was everyone's son or daughter. A boy could be scolded by any adult who knew him, just as he could find a caring presence over every threshold.

Then and Now:

One part of this exhibit that I think we have discussed but haven't really shown is how Fox Point was torn apart and gentrified and how that ultimately led to the disintegration of the Cape Verdean community. Incorporating a "then vs. now" component of the exhibit will help show what the Fox Point area looked like and will also help demonstrate how the area has changed. I think that more people will obtain an emotional investment in the exhibit if they are able to relate the exhibit to places they know, like Coffee Exchange, and see how that space was once a home and a part of the Cape Verdean community. This would also be an opportunity to incorporate the video picture frames - one frame would rotate through the images of buildings during our time frame while the other would simultaneously show what those buildings look like now. Not only would this show what "the street" looked like during the hey-day of the Fox Point Cape Verdean community but it will also drive home the fact that severe upheaval and gentrification occurred in the area.

IMAGES:

Photos of the streets specifically with adults in them:

Wedding procession in the street: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2902456686/in/set-72157613813285890/

Feliciano "Flash" Gomes & Geneva Santos Cruz in front of 42 Transit Street: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2901181889/in/set-72157613811745166/

Dedication of the Fox Point War Memorial: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2518556433/in/set-72157613811745166/

Of children:

Three girls on front step: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/3199362305/in/set-72157614769047319/

Children outside house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2519076648/in/set-72157614769047319/

Children on front steps: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2620576087/in/set-72157614769047319/

Kids with bike: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2624937765/in/set-72157614769047319/

Kids playing baseball: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/2519065502/in/set-72157614769047319/

Malcolm Reis at Hope High: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxpoint/3270401758/in/set-72157613584673547/