Timm Carney is a public transportation junkie, and in his continuing series on the varied bus routes and trolleys throughout our great town, here is his Mister Rogers-like take on our own Green Line, the Ripta Trolley. Whimsey!

Today we are going to take a little ride on the Trolley. The fake trolley cars are great; just remember to hold on! There are 2 lines, the Green line (92) and the Gold line (91). It’s hard to say exactly where the lines start and end as they are loops. Today we are on the Green line and for the sake of argument let’s say it starts Downtown.

The stop for both trolley lines is on West Approach. What a great street name West Approach. What exactly one approaches on it is a mystery but that’s neither here nor there. In the winter there is a great view of the skating rink while you wait for your trolley and in the warm months there is often a street fair or party going on. That’s a good bus stop! The first trolley to arrive is the west bound Federal Hill trolley. This is the one line in Providence that you are practically guaranteed to run into out-of-towners. It basically starts across the street from 3 hotels and the first stop is the Convention Center, Providence’s version of tourist central.

The next downtown stop after it passes the Dunkin Donut Center is the glamorous new Hilton before it heads over the mighty 95 onto Atwells and Federal Hill. The Sister Dominica high rise and the enormous inverted pineapple greet you welcoming you to the ethnic riches shall we say of Federal Hill. This neighborhood also seems for some reason to be tattoo central.

Da Hill was/is the home of the mob. Every store front can tell a sordid story or two. The map at the RIPTA stop gives this section of Atwells the colorful name “Restaurant Row”. I have never heard anyone ever at any time call this “Restaurant Row” but whatever. There are a lot of restaurants so perhaps I‘ll start calling it that. Maybe not. During the summer at DePasquale Plaza right by the fountain Opera Providence performs selections of Italian Opera for your dining pleasure. I happened to catch a selection from a Verdi opera (don’t ask me which one) and it was pretty cool to be eating fettuccini Alfredo and listening to opera. Besides the restaurants there are the markets on Atwells. These are real treats; the crown jewel being Venda Ravioli. Everyone is always impressed by Venda. I also am very fond of Tony’s Colonial market. They have the nicest ladies working there. I have never been to Antoinelli’s Poultry but have heard raves about it and they are rumored to actually kill birds for you. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I like to think it is.

Atwells has its fair share of fun bars as well as excellent restaurants. Artini’s, Tammany Hall and Lili Marlene’s are all fun stops for a night on the trolley. Further down Atwells nearing the end of the route the trolley passes the site of the new Talk of The Town. Needless to say it’s re-opening is anxiously awaited.

The Green Line then crosses Harris Ave and goes into Eagle Sq. The trip over the little bridge is always fun especially with another car on the bridge. What was once Shaw’s Supermarket and is now fabled to be a grocery outlet is the last stop before the route heads back out onto Atwells and back through Federal Hill off to downtown again.

It now turns into the Fox Point route. This line is often crowded with students and Eastside commuters. The trolley passes by the Marriott and turns onto Memorial Blvd affording a nice view of the park and State House along with the two horrid apartment towers. The line crosses the river and heads into the East Side tunnel. I always enjoy a ride through the East Side bus tunnel. It is one of those moments when you think,”Oh yeah this is a city.” Then suddenly you are on Thayer St., the heart of College Hill.

The trolley then turns on to Waterman St. by the architectural masterpiece otherwise known as the Med Sci Library one of Providence’s true gems. Thank You Brown University! It travels around the corner to Brook St. heading through the outskirts of the Brown campus off towards Fox Point. On Brook St there are a couple of cool shops — The Liquor store rocks and so does the bike shop.

When it gets into Fox Point the Green line turns onto Hipster central aka Wickenden St. Need a hair do? How about some functional glass art or a vibrator? If so this is the place. Wickenden boasts the oldest record shop in town; what do you want, they probably have it. At the end of Wickenden St it turns on Gano and then on to Pittman. The outskirts of the very square Wayland Sq. and its terminus are just ahead. This time we end in front of another supermarket — The Eastside market. The best place in town for snacks when shopping. Just a hop, skip, and a jump from the big Salvation Army and with a great view of the railway bridge what better way to start back downtown again. The Green Line is a fun ride.

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