Today, Warren’s downtown is revitalizing, and in addition to acclaimed cultural hubs such as the IMAGO gallery, 2nd Story Theatre and the Hope and Main Kitchen Incubator, many nineteenth century mills have been repurposed as artist studios. With Providence only 14 miles away, residents of Warren have a dizzying array of choices for dining, shopping and entertainment. Despite Warren’s all of this activity, areas of the town retain a rural, faraway feel of days gone by. Stonewalls and mature trees, picturesque reminders of farms that once occupied the land, line curving roads in the exclusive waterfront community of Touisset. There are some remaining working farms here, and the peaceful character of the place is protected with the 66-acre Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge, owned by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. Thanks to its committed and innovative community efforts, measured changes are taking place here as the town’s character is carefully preserved. Warren is a charming, quirky mix of urban and rural, bustling and sleepy, then and now.