Text Your BFF Who's A Rhody History Fan Because They'll Adore These Throwbacks

Providence business district Photo by kickstand/iStock /Getty Images

You probably won’t be able to find out which PVD disco Andre Leon Talley and his friends frequented during the very early 70’s while he was studying for his Master’s in French Lit at Brown. (The legendary ALT regaled us with stories about his life and times in Durham, NC, New York, Paris, and yes, PROVIDENCE last night at a special event at the Graduate.).

Nonetheless, you’ll still want to scope out the new-ish Providence City Archives account over on Twitter.

And soon.

I mean, if only for all the info you’ll be able to use to ramp up the interesting convo at your next mixer, cocktail party, or what have you. (Don’t know about you, but I tend to fall back on the weather, which can wind up being a one way ticket to yawnsville for all involved.)

You’ll be ecstatic to discover that the posts from Providence City Archives are a delightfully odd treasure trove of old photos and tidbits of long forgotten Providence history, including a menu from what was once the Dexter Asylum (1828 - 1957) located on land that’s now part of the Brown University athletic department. (For the record, it was pretty heavy on the white bread. Guess no one was too worried about carbs or bleached flour back then.)

Keep scrolling and you’ll also come across a spirited debate about whether Broadway and the surrounding streets are the West Side or the West End. Or how about…a color photo of ye olde Westminster Mall (Yes, that part of Westminster Street was bricked up into a walking mall from approximately 1964 until 1989.) that screams 1970’s, complete with a wide-tie-wearing guy front and center-ish.

Also, there’s a then and now tweet from just this morning, revolving around the spot that’s now home to the Hasbro headquarters downtown, and how back in the day, they actually started out selling textile leftovers. And here I thought it all began with Monopoly or something.

Scroll further and feast your eyes on a mildly unsettling (I say this because most of us are so used to Pixar’s Toy Story and their version voiced by the late Don Rickles.) clip of an old time-y Mr. Potato Head at a playground, apparently dating back to early 1950’s when he was first introduced.

So, whether you consider yourself a Rhody history buff or not, you may find yourself getting caught up in this quirky, little local corner of the Twitter-verse.