About Providence

8.7.2001
Governors and their entourages give R.I. two thumbs up

BY D. MORGAN McVICAR
Journal Staff Writer

Journal coverage of the National Governors Association conference

PROVIDENCE — From the shores of Narragansett to the hills of the capital city, Rhode Island won the hearts of the nation's governors and their families and staffs this weekend, wowing them with pastoral serenity, urban vitality and downright Southern hospitality.

The unquestioned belle of the ball was Providence and its sparkling, vivacious new downtown. A bit awestruck and amazed, the good folks of Mississippi, North Dakota and Idaho walked along the city's rivers, dined al fresco on its sidewalks and shopped at its Fifth-Avenue-caliber stores.

The eminent visitors arrived not quite certain what they would find. But they will depart having learned that a city can preserve its past while simultaneously blasting into the future.

North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven attended Dartmouth College in the 1970s and came south for athletic events at Brown University.

His impression of downtown then was of "an urban center, kind of dirty and struggling. And that was still my impression passing through even 10 years ago."

What a difference a decade and almost $1 billion in public and private projects can make. While Hoeven was away, the rivers were uncovered, rechanneled and endowed with walks from which they could be admired. The railroad station was relocated and acres of tracks vanished. On the land freed for development sprung up hotels, condominiums and office buildings.

A bus station was razed, and up went the Westin Hotel and the Rhode Island Convention Center. Finally came the mall, Providence Place.

"I've got to tell you," Hoeven said, "driving in, I thought, 'Wow, they've really cleaned it up.' It's much more vital. I'm very impressed.

"You guys are doing the right thing," said the North Dakotan. "We need to build on our strengths, do what you guys have done."

There are no ocean beaches in Iowa. So, when Gov. Thomas J. Vilsack and his wife, Christie, learned that this year's national association meeting would be here, they immediately thought ocean.

Christie Vilsack called Governor Almond's office a few months ago, and within 24 hours had a house on the beach at Point Judith. The Vilsacks arrived a week ago Sunday.

"We've been eating seafood every night," Mrs. Vilsack says. "I don't think I've had a taste of pork or beef since I've been here.

"We saw The King and I at Theatre By the Sea [in Matunuck]. We went for a bike ride on Block Island. We went to six different beaches. We just sat and read."

Mrs. Vilsack interviewed at Pembroke College in the late 1960s, and recalled the city as "being sort of industrial."

Which is a polite Midwesterner's way of saying it was a dump.

So, it was with some sadness that the Iowans packed, bade farewell to the beach and headed for the city.

"It looks so much different," a happily surprised Christie Vilsack said. "It's a nice blend of old and new. You see historic buildings, but also signs of growth."

The way to some governors hearts, apparently, is through their stomachs. Wisconsin Gov. Scott McCallum said he'd been here once before, and "I recall having one of the better meals I've ever had. You have that Johnson something here, don't you," referring to the culinary arts-oriented Johnson & Wales University.

"So I'm looking forward to dinner tonight."

Michigan Gov. John Engler, on his first visit to Rhode Island, supped at Eclectic Grille one evening and Mediterraneo another.

"I had linguini and clam sauce last night," Engler said. "There weren't any complaints from anybody around. And we had Tom Foglietta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, with us and he gave it thumbs up."

Robert Sherman, a lobbyist in Montpelier, Vt., shared in the lavishing of kudos on the city. But the native of East Providence and 1970 University of Rhode Island graduate saw — and lamented — a part of the city few at this conference apparently even know exists — the old downtown.

Sherman remembers the days when his father owned seven parking garages in the old downtown and the area bustled much as the new downtown does today.

"I think this is wonderful," Sherman said of the new Providence. "But it seems they've abandoned the old downtown. What they've done is great. But if they could bring back old downtown, that would be great, too."

Maine Gov. Angus King says he visits Rhode Island often and thinks "it's one of the great areas of the country.

"This convention center is fabulous," King said. "We need something like this in Maine."

The morning after he and his family dined at the State House and experienced WaterFire Providence , King said, "Last night was just a great showcase for the community. What struck me and my wife was the vitality of the city. And it had nothing to do with the governor's conference.

"It's quite amazing what you've achieved here," King said. "Everybody seems to be in a good mood. I'm impressed."

The esoteric King said that at WaterFire he and his wife "both had this instinctive feeling we were participating in something primitive. It could have been Oslo, Norway, 1,000 years ago. I don't mean primitive in a pejorative sense. Maybe primal is a better word."

The governors association contracted this year with a California firm, LesConcierges, to provide personal assistance to governors and their families on everything from hotel reservations and house rentals to chartering sailboats and even arranging for a helicopter to take a governor to and from New York City two days ago.

"I see a lot of pleasantly surprised governors and their staffs," Les Concierges's Katie Kuntzler said yesterday. "They really love how cozy and quaint and really picturesque the city is."