Pawtucket

Pawtucket is a Rhode Island city of 75,604 (2020) founded in 1671. It is a diverse city home to many cultures resulting in a spectrum of sights, sounds, and flavors. With an emerging interest and concentration on the arts, Pawtucket has introduced performing arts and visual arts into the community.

Understand
It was home to the father of the American Industrial Revolution, Samuel Slater. The construction of his historic textile mill, called Slater Mill, marked the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1793. Since then Pawtucket has shifted out of textiles (with only a few specialty manufacturers remaining) and has grown to hold 300 diversified industries with the most prominent being jewelry, silverware, and metalworking.

Pawtucket has 76,000 residents (2020). Its neighborhoods have all improved greatly as the city's developmental policies focus on improving the quality of residential areas and expanding employment.

By plane

 * T.F. Green Airport is about a 20-minute drive from Pawtucket. PVD is a national airport with connecting international flights.
 * Logan International Airport is an hour away in Boston, Massachusetts and is an international airport.

By bus

 * RIPTA bus Route 99, from Kennedy Plaza in Providence, converts into Route 76 which goes to Central Avenue and Newport Avenue. It also converts to Route 71 to Broad Street.

By car

 * Route 95 runs right through Pawtucket. Exit 29 (from 95N) will bring you to Central Avenue, from which you can easily get downtown.

By train

 * The Providence/Stoughton Rail line runs through Pawtucket. The closest passenger train stop is the one in downtown Providence, about a 10 minute drive from Pawtucket.

Get around

 * RIPTA lines run everyday all throughout the city.
 * The easiest way to get around Downtown Pawtucket is by bus, since traffic tends to make driving very frustrating. Schedules can be found online at the RIPTA website.
 * If driving is your preferred means of transportation, traffic or not, beware of the one ways around the RIPTA Station and the Pawtucket Public Library.
 * Rhode Island Taxi, +1 401 286-5515

See
Downtown Pawtucket has received federal recognition for its contributions to community planning, industry and architecture. The Historic District has been added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.


 * Fall events are Pumpkins in the Park, a display of hundreds of carved and lighted jack-o-lanterns, and the Haunted Tunnel, which occur from late September until Halloween. Winter Wonderland occurs in December, and includes the opening of the carousel for that special event, decorated Christmas trees, and concerts. The Pawtucket Arts Festival holds concerts and other events in the park during the summer, the most popular being the free concert performed by the Boston Pops and a finale of fireworks, which acts as the closing to the festival
 * Fall events are Pumpkins in the Park, a display of hundreds of carved and lighted jack-o-lanterns, and the Haunted Tunnel, which occur from late September until Halloween. Winter Wonderland occurs in December, and includes the opening of the carousel for that special event, decorated Christmas trees, and concerts. The Pawtucket Arts Festival holds concerts and other events in the park during the summer, the most popular being the free concert performed by the Boston Pops and a finale of fireworks, which acts as the closing to the festival

Go next

 * Bristol, a 40-minute drive from Pawtucket is home to the historic 4th of July parade and beautiful scenery, especially Colt State Park, a must see.
 * Newport, 50 minutes to the south of Pawtucket, is home to famous beaches, streets and Mansions. Open seasonally the Newport Mansions are an affordable family friendly attraction.
 * Providence, 10 minutes away from downtown Pawtucket, Providence is the Rhode Island epicenter for politics, shopping and beauty. Cultural draw is Thayer Street.