The Providence Journal: India Point Park's new paved pavilion opens. What makes it special.

Wheeler Cowperthwaite, Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE – India Point Park's new paved pavilion, with new tables and swinging benches, officially opened to the public on May 5.

Providence city leaders celebrated the opening huddled inside a small tent, attempting to stay dry during a light rain.

The makeover in the center of the park, right around the entrance to the pedestrian bridge over the freeway, has been years in the making. The new paved pavilion extends to the wooden events area that juts over the water.

What's new at the park?

Water-permeable pavers have created a new plaza, replacing stone dust walkways, creating a cohesive center of the park.

Wooden benches and tables have been installed in the new paved pavilion, which also has trees in the middle. The trees were chosen for their ability to withstand wind, rain and salt from the ocean.

Around the trees, the city used cobblestones that were repurposed from other parts of the city as accents, creating a border around the green space.

Grass on the other side of the pavers is still fenced off, as it needs another month to take root.

The most recent cobblestones to be used in the project came from Westminster and Dorrance streets, where the intersection was replaced with asphalt following utility work. Those cobblestones were added in 1989 under then-Mayor Joseph Paolino, who oversaw Westminster Street's conversion back from a pedestrian-only mall to a one-way street.

Among the new features city officials seem the most interested in are four swinging benches that overlook the water, custom made for the city.

Other benches in the park have been replaced and put onto concrete pads. Erosion has been a problem in the area, an interface zone between the ocean and land.

How much did it cost?

The money for the $2.1 million facelift mostly came from federal stimulus funds and parks bond money.

Playground facelift

Parks Superintendent Wendy Nilsson said one of the things she was happiest to show off was new playground equipment, including a pirate ship that matches extensive mosaics in the playground area, new landscaping and concrete pads, a new slide and new swings. The geodesic-like rope structure received a fresh coat of paint.

What else is new?

Elsewhere in the park, chain-link fencing has been replaced with welded wire fencing, with gaps to let people access the tidal areas.

The first phase of the project involved reinforcing the eastern shoreline against erosion and running an experiment to see which materials did the best job.

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