Thayer Street in Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 is a popular destination for students of the area's nearby schools of Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

, Moses Brown School

Moses Brown School

Moses Brown School is a Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, founded by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, in 1784. It is one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country.-Founder:...

, Wheeler School

Wheeler School

The Wheeler School is a coeducational independent day school located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The school serves students from the nursery level through twelfth-grade.- Mary C. Wheeler :...

, RISD

Rhode Island School of Design

Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...

, Providence College

Providence College

Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...

, Johnson & Wales University

Johnson & Wales University

Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, is home to JWU's first and largest of four currently operating campuses. Founded as a business school in 1914, by...

, and Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...

.

Neighborhood information

It is located in the College Hill

College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island

College Hill is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the East Side of Providence and part of College Hill Historic District. It is roughly bounded by North Main Street to the west, Power Street to the south, Governor Street and Arlington Avenue to...

 neighborhood on the East Side

East Side, Providence, Rhode Island

The East Side is a collection of neighborhoods in Providence, Rhode Island on the eponymous eastern part of the city. It officially comprises the neighborhoods of Blackstone, Hope , Mount Hope, College Hill , Wayland, and Fox Point.The area is separated from East Providence, Rhode Island to the...

 of Providence. Brown's graduate housing and some classroom buildings are on Thayer street.

Similar to Harvard Square

Harvard Square

Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...

 in Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, and Telegraph Avenue

Telegraph Avenue

Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...

 in Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Thayer Street hosts independent shops and restaurants that serve as a communal center for students and locals. While Harvard Square has long been controlled by chain restaurants and stores, many businesses on Thayer remain independent, such as Avon Cinema

Avon Cinema

The Avon Cinema is an Art Deco Theatre opened on the East Side of Providence, near Brown University, since February, 1938 in the United States of America.-History:...

, Blue State Coffee

Blue State Coffee

Blue State Coffee runs coffee stores in Providence, Rhode Island, New Haven, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts. The company donates 2% of sales to "local, progressive" causes, and has given over $250,000 to date.-History:...

, Rockstar Body Piercing, and East Side Pockets, with certain notable exceptions such as Johnny Rockets

Johnny Rockets

Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant that had become a common sight by the 1950s...

, Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

, Au Bon Pain, Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....

, Chipotle

Chipotle

A chipotle , or chilpotle, which comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoktli meaning "smoked chili pepper" is a smoke-dried jalapeño that tends to be brown and shriveled. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex.Varieties of jalapeño...

, and CVS Pharmacy. Up until late 2004, The Gap also had a location on Thayer Street, though it has subsequently closed. The east-coast sportswear retailer City Sports

City Sports

City Sports is an American sporting goods retailer operating mostly on the east coast of the United States. Its chief products include athletic apparel, footwear, and equipment...

 has since taken over its spot.

Over the last several years, there has been a general increase in the proportion of Thayer St. businesses that serve food. Neighborhood residents and some other community members argue that landlords should try to lease space to retail stores instead of new restaurants. This preference is due in part to the limited parking currently available on College Hill

College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island

College Hill is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the East Side of Providence and part of College Hill Historic District. It is roughly bounded by North Main Street to the west, Power Street to the south, Governor Street and Arlington Avenue to...

. City zoning regulations require far fewer off-street parking spaces for retail businesses than for restaurants. Neighbors also complain of a noise late at night and the College Hill Neighborhood Association, an organization representing College Hill residents, generally fights against applications for liquor licenses on Thayer St.