Silver Lake, Providence, Rhode Island

Silver Lake is a neighborhood on the western edge of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bordered by the Hartford neighborhood to the north, Route 10 to the east, Johnston and Cranston on the West and separated from Olneyville by Route 6.

Like Federal Hill, Silver Lake was traditionally an Italian-American neighborhood. Since the mid-1990s, Silver Lake has undergone a radical transformation into a largely Hispanic neighborhood, as evidenced by the recent influx of Central American restaurants, bars and markets.

Settlement in Silver Lake began after the completion of the Plainfield Road to Plainfield, Connecticut in 1710. Farmers settled the area shortly afterward. Isolated from the rest of Providence, some sought to secede from Providence before the town of Johnston, Rhode Island annexed Silver Lake in 1759.

Silver Lake took its name from the original lake located in the area bordered by Murray, Sybil, Mercy and Plainfield Streets. At the turn of the 20th century, it was graded with landfill and debris then became the site of a supermarket and bank for many years.

Suburban development in the 19th century led Providence to reacquire Silver Lake in 1898. Shortly thereafter, Silver Lake witnessed its most significant period of development in the early 20th century prior to the Great Depression. From the late 19th century until the 1970s the neighborhood was predominately Italian with Irish, Polish, English and a mix of other European immigrants.

In 1990, nearly 43% of Silver Lake residents claimed some Italian ancestry. That same census showed that about 7% of Silver Lake's residents Hispanic, 2.3% were Asian, and 2% were African-American. Median family income in Silver Lake was $27,736, about 2% lower than the citywide average. 16% of families lived in poverty.

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