Description
- Abstract:
- Oral history interview with Joanne Brasil about life in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, RI and the changes in the community's dynamics that she has witnessed.
- Notes:
- Joanne Brasil is a third generation native of Fox Point, and is of Portuguese descent. Her great-grand parents immigrated to Fox Point from the Azores in search of work during the 1930s. She lives in a cottage at 74 Arnold Street with her husband and two children and is a stay-at-home mom. Joannes mother lives at 68 Arnold Street in a cottage immediately behind her. 68 Arnold Street is also Joannes childhood home. Joannes mother also owns a third cottage, which is rented out to Brown University students. The properties were first purchased by Joannes great-grandmother in the late 1930s, and have been inherited by female members of their family for the past two generations. Joanne is the daughter of Hilda and James Brasil. She was born at Lying-Inn Hospital in Providence in 1963 and considers herself a lifer in Fox Point. She is the youngest of four siblings and is the only one who still lives in Fox Point. She attended private Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school, and she also attended Rhode Island College. After marrying her husband, Brian, they lived in Smith Hill for a short period of time. However, Joanne did not consider the area home and they moved into one of her mothers properties. As a lifelong resident of Arnold Street Joanne has observed many changes in the community's dynamics. She recalls that an increase in absentee landlords and college-aged neighbors has created a disconnect within the area. She sees this as a drastic change from the tight knit network of neighbors she was surrounded by as a young child. Many of the changes to Fox Point Joanne would like to see, deal with the use of open space that will be created once the interstate relocation project is complete.
Citation
"Interview with Joanne Brasil"
(2010).
Fox Point Project.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:414284/
Relations
Is Part of:
Collection:
-
Fox Point Project
Since 2008, students from the Brown Center for Public Humanities have worked with Professor Anne Valk on collaborative projects to preserve and present the cultural heritage and social history of the Fox Point neighborhood. An archival collection of oral history …...