Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped 427acre city park in Providence, Rhode Island and is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is named after the founder of the city of Providence and one of the founders of the state of Rhode Island, Roger Williams.HistoryThe land for the park was a gift to the people of Providence in 1871, in accordance with the will of Betsey Williams, the great-great-great-granddaughter, and last surviving descendant of the founder to own the land. It had been the family farm and represented the last of the original land grant to Roger Williams in 1638 from Canonicus, chief of the Narragansett tribe. The family farmhouse (built in 1773), known as the Betsey Williams Cottage, and the Williams family burial ground (including Betsey's grave) are still maintained within the park.2016-2017 renovationsIn 2016-2017, the Rhode Island Foundation began a renovation effort in the park, as a celebration of the centennial anniversary of the foundation. The park's historic bandstand was the first to be renovated in December 2016. The renovations would expand to other park buildings and entrances.In June 2017, as part of these renovations, a new traffic pattern was introduced in the park. The two-way traffic along Frederick Green Memorial Boulevard from Pine Hill Avenue to Park Avenue to the Montgomery Avenue Rotary was changed to one lane with one-way northbound automobile traffic, and a dedicated lane for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The move was met by opposition by some Cranston residents, including Cranston mayor Allan Fung.
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