Tucked beside Kennedy Plaza, your Burnside Park carries the name of Civil War general Ambrose Burnside. The park carries the name of Ambrose Burnside, the Rhode Island general of the American Civil War, and you can see his equestrian statue, erected in the late 19th century, sitting in the center of the park. Once known as City Hall Park, part of this ground was long ago the Cove Basin; the rest was bought from the Old Colony Railroad Company and the New York and New England Railroad Companies.
The park was dedicated in 1892 and was landscaped after the completion of Union Station in 1898. In the first decade of the 20th century monumental sculpture arrived here: the equestrian portrait of General Ambrose E. Burnside, created in 1887 by Launt Thompson, was reset from Exchange Place in 1906. Nearby the Bajnotti Fountain, sculpted in 1902 by Enid Yandell, serves as the centerpiece of the park.
More recently this has been public ground of civic expression, hosting the Occupy Providence camp in the fall of 2011. Notice the statue at the center, the fountain, and the streets that meet this small historic park.