Lucille’s Beauty Parlor
477 N. Main St., erroneously listed as Lucille's Beauty Parlor in The Green Book.
Known Name(s)
Lucille’s Beauty Parlor
Address
477 N. Main St. Providence, RI
Establishment Type(s)
Beauty Parlor
Physical Status
Extant
Detailed History
477 N. Main Street is a curious property. On historic maps, the building seems to have been sliced into about five very small storefronts, each with their own number. Even more confusing is that the storefronts seem to have had their own ephemeral nature. 477 existed as early as 1935 and housed a variety store, but starting in 1939, the storefront was vacant and remained so until 1950, when it simply disappeared. Most likely, the space was absorbed into one of the adjacent storefronts. Today, those storefronts have been entirely removed, leaving no trace of the earlier architectural arrangement.
The Green Book lists Lucille’s Beauty Parlor at 477 North Main St. This listing is in error; owned by Lucy A. Dwyer, Lucille’s Beauty Parlor was actually located at 111 Mathewson, room 2, in 1938 and 1939 and then at 22A Pontiac Ave. from 1940 until 1948. Mathewson St. is located across the river to the south west from 477 No. Main in what is now the heart of Providence’s business district. Pontiac Ave. is even further to the southwest towards Cranston. It would have been impossible to find Lucille’s from the information given in The Green Book.
While small errors are not uncommon in The Green Book, one of this magnitude is rare.
