Mayor Walter Reynolds, known as “Barney,” served seven consecutive terms as Mayor of Providence, totaling fourteen years of service. He was the City’s Chief Executive during times of great accomplishment and growth. A public servant for more than thirty-five years, beginning in 1935, he received numerous national, regional, and local awards for excellence in various aspects of municipal administration. He created the Providence Human Relations Commission and was a symbol of public integrity, with many of the City’s projects as hallmarks of his tenure.

Reynolds was born on January 22, 1901, in the “Irish End” of Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood to Bernard and Catherine (O’Connell) Reynolds. He had a sister, Isabelle, and a brother, Joseph. He attended St. Mary’s Elementary School, the old English High School, and later the former St. Mary’s Commercial High School. He worked for the Western Electric Company from 1922 to 1933.

Reynolds served as administrative assistant to Mayor Dennis J. Roberts in 1940. He became budget officer in 1943 and finance director in 1947. When Roberts ran for governor in 1950, Reynolds entered the mayor’s race against Republican Robert E. Burns. Despite never having held elective office, Reynolds won the election with 56,092 votes to Burns’ 23,395. Reynolds was elected to office for a total of seven consecutive terms.

While known as a conservative mayor, Reynolds was always ready to promote his city and state. He was an early supporter of John F. Kennedy and a frequent visitor to the White House when Kennedy was elected president.

His accomplishments as mayor included:

• The three-man Bureau of Police and Fire was replaced with a Public Safety Commissioner.
• Olneyville Expressway was completed.
• A system to prevent parking fraud for state workers was implemented.
• A new zoning code was developed.
• West River Industrial Park was built.
• New fire stations were built in 1953.
• A new central library was dedicated in 1954.
• Expanded street construction relieved traffic congestion.
• Stricter housing codes were enforced.
• Construction of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was begun after Hurricane Carol struck the area in 1954.
• Financial aid to public schools was increased
• Six new elementary schools were built
• A master plan for the development of downtown was prepared.
• The Providence Human Relations Commission was established.

Reynolds received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Bryant University in 1959. He also received honorary degrees from Brown University and Bryant College. 1977, the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was named in Reynolds’s honor.

In 1964, Reynolds lost favor with Democratic city chairman Lawrence P. McGarry, Rhode Island’s most influential party boss. McGarry backed the young city councilman Joseph A. Doorley Jr. in the 1964 mayoral election, and Reynolds’ political career was over. Doorley lost McGarry’s support, referring to him as a puppeteer. McGarry, known as Mr. Democrat, backed Buddy Cianci, who was elected with a 709 margin. 

Reynolds, who never married, died on April 7, 1987, at the age of 86. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1985.

For additional reading:

1.  “Former Providence Mayor Walter H. Reynolds dies.” The Providence Journal, April 8, 1987.

2.  “Mayors of the City of Providence: Walter H. Reynolds (1901-1987)”. City of Providence. City of Providence, November 2016.

4.  Stanton, Mike, “A Providence civics lesson,” The Providence Journal, December 9, 2002.