Wal-Mart will open its 10th Rhode Island location on Thayer Street this June. The Providence Zoning Board Friday approved tearing down the historic Avon Theater to make way for the discount department store amid widespread outrage from students and College Hill residents.
Chris Watson, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said the company would begin destruction of the Avon within the week.
"We think Wal-Mart will add to the already rich diversity of consumer experiences on Thayer Street," said zoning board chair Roger Dorn. "It's nice to have funky, unique places like Johnny Rockets and Dunkin' Donuts, but sometimes you have to switch things up a little with a good, old-fashioned chain department store."
But Lou Brown, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, criticized the board's decision to aid the growing commercialization of Thayer.
"I thought Supercuts coming to Thayer was the apocalypse. But this - this is worse than the end of the world," Brown said.
But Brown said he doesn't think there's much College Hill residents can do to stop Wal-Mart. "The CHNA is a very powerful, respected voice in Providence, but even we can't counter the national clout of Wal-Mart," he said. Still, he hopes that the store will close down because of lack of business.
"Who's going to shop there anyway? People on College Hill are either rich white guys or spoiled, supposedly liberal Brown students," he said. "We don't need to save 50 cents on a pack of Rice-a-Roni."
Brown students are taking a more aggressive stance on the issue. After learning of the zoning board's approval, members of Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Labor Alliance staged a "starve-in" at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Westerly. Students accosted Wal-Mart employees as they finished their shifts, threw them in makeshift cages in front of the store and refused to give them food or water.
"We were trying to show customers what Wal-Mart does to its employees," said SLA member Lyn Wells '09. "Unfortunately, the employees didn't appreciate our efforts. I think Wal-Mart has brainwashed them." Trapped employees began shouting for help as soon as they were forced into the cages, Wells said. After attempts to explain their mission failed to assuage employees, students released them.
Wells said SDS and SLA had considered staging a "die-in" but couldn't find any raspberry jam.
Some Brown students, however, are just worried about losing a favorite movie theater.
"I've heard Wal-Mart actually treats its employees with respect and serves as a model of success for smaller businesses," said Harry Doyle '08. "But I don't want to have to walk all the way to Cable Car or Providence Place to catch a movie."
