The small country style lanes that connect Benefit Street with South Main Street in Providence are as close as we can possibly get to the original layout of Colonial Providence. Church Street, shown in today's photo, is a great example. This street dates to at least 1722 and probably earlier. It was in 1772 that Kings Church was erected on the left side of this lane. That church survived until the American Revolution when it closed for about 10 years. (Expressing support for the King in 1776 Providence was hazardous to one's health.) It reopened after the Revolution, and in 1810 the congregation demolished the original wooden building and built this beautiful stone church in the same location. The homes lining this short lane are all from the colonial period. The hill crests at its junction with Benefit Street, one of the oldest streets in the city. Church Street is barely wide enough for one car, having been built to service horse and carriage traffic from the wharfs of Providence to the homes lining Benefit Street (originally named High Street.)
All post processing took place in Topaz Adjust. I applied a simple pop filter since I did not want to lose the deep shadows but did want to accentuate that beautiful golden glow on the church. To that end I adjusted the dynamic exposure, contrast, strength, detail boost, sharpen, dynamic saturation, saturation, and saturation boost sliders. I resisted the urge to brighten the house at the far end of the shot on Benefit Street, instead opting to let the photo flow into the dark recesses of history.
