Pawtucket, Rhode Island

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City of Pawtucket
City of Pawtucket (Rhode Island)
City of Pawtucket
City of Pawtucket
Location within the state of Rhode Island
Coordinates: 41°52′33″N 71°22′37″W / 41.87583, -71.37694
Country United States
State Rhode Island
County Providence
Founded (town) 1671
Incorporated (city) 1886
Government
 - Type Mayor-council
 - Mayor James E. Doyle
Area
 - Total 9.00 sq mi (23.31 km²)
 - Land 8.7 sq mi (22.6 km²)
 - Water 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
Elevation 36 ft (11 m)
Population (2005)
 - Total 73,742
 - Density 8,437/sq mi (3,258/km²)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 02860-02862
Area code(s) 401
FIPS code 44-54640[1]
GNIS feature ID 1218926[2]
Website: http://www.pawtucketri.com

Pawtucket (pronounced Pa-TUCK-et) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 72,958 at the 2000 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state. The current mayor is James Doyle.

Pawtucket was the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Slater Mill, built in 1790 by Samuel Slater on the Blackstone River in downtown Pawtucket, was the first commercially successful cotton-spinning mill with a fully mechanized power system in America.[3]

Hasbro, the world's second-largest manufacturer of toys and games, is headquartered in Pawtucket.

Originally, there were two Pawtuckets[citation needed]. Pawtucket west of the Blackstone River used to be part of nearby North Providence. East of the Blackstone River was originally settled as part of the Massachusetts town of Rehoboth.[citation needed] Once East Pawtucket (another alternate name for the area of Pawtucket east of the Blackstone) was transferred to Rhode Island in the 1860s, both sections (West and East Pawtucket) merged. It was later incorporated as a city.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Pawtucket is located at 41°52′32″N, 71°22′34″W (41.875499, -71.375981)[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.3 km²), of which, 8.7 square miles (22.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (2.89%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 72,958 people, 30,047 households, and 18,508 families residing in the city. Pawtucket was the fourth most populous of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. The population density was 8,351.2 people per square mile (3,223.0/km²). There were 31,819 housing units at an average density of 3,642.2/sq mi (1,405.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.39% White, 7.31% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.75% from other races, and 5.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.90% of the population.

There were 30,047 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city, the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,775, and the median income for a family was $39,038. Males had a median income of $31,129 versus $23,391 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,008. About 14.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Pawtucket is twinned with Belper, Derbyshire,a town in England, where Samuel Slater had been apprenticed to Jedediah Strutt, learning the secrets of Richard Arkwright's Water Frame (and is sometimes known in the area as "Slater the traitor").

According to the 2000 census, 20.6% of Pawtucket residents are French or French-Canadian.[5] Like nearby cities Providence, RI; East Providence, RI; Fall River, MA; & New Bedford, MA; Pawtucket hosts a significant population (11.6%)[6] plus 8.5% Cape Verdean (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFIteratedFacts?_event=&geo_id=16000US4454640&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US44%7C16000US4454640&_street=&_county=pawtucket&_cityTown=pawtucket&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_2&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=564&qr_name=DEC_2000_SAFF_A1160&reg=DEC_2000_SAFF_A1160%3A564&_keyword=&_industry=) from across the Portuguese Empire. The segment from Cape Verde Islands was featured in this Zip Code USA article from National Geographic magazine.

Pawtucket is also one of the few areas of the US with a significant Liberian population, mostly refugees from Charles Taylor's regime.

[edit] Economy and redevelopment

Projects in the planning stage include a revitalized Pawtucket Tidewater/Riverfront [1].

[edit] Transportation

Railroad tracks between New York and Boston run through Pawtucket. Train service at the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station terminated in 1959. Pawtucket was omitted from the MBTA Commuter Rail service on the Providence/Stoughton Line, reestablished in July 2006. However, there is some discussion of restoring service to the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station.

[edit] Highways and roads

Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 also traverse the western part of Pawtucket.

[edit] Downtown Circulator

Pawtucket's Downtown Circulator was a one-way loop through downtown; it is similar to British concepts of ring roads. A similar concept was also tried in Providence, Rhode Island with their Downtown Ring Roads.

The Circulator used East Avenue, High Street, Summer Street, Goff Avenue, Dexter Street and Park Place West. Each half of the Circulator carried one direction of U.S. 1; sections also carried westbound RI 15 and northbound RI 114. It was signed with a big 'C' on overhead signs.

The circulator is no longer signed, though the road configuration remains. Providence's Downtown Ring Roads have suffered a similar fate.

The only remaining sign

Map

Former overhead signs, with C sign at left

[edit] Culture

See also: List of Registered Historic Places in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

The City of Pawtucket hired Researcher Ann Galligan, of Northeastern University, to create an arts and cultural plan. Allowing the city to become more proactive in retaining and attracting artists and will enable city officials to allocate resources more effectively to meet the needs of Pawtucket's growing artist community.

Pawtucket is becoming known as a center for arts and culture. This reposted 2004 NY Times article describes the city's efforts to attract artists as well as its continuing problems with red tape.

Each September, The City in conjunction with members of the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative produce an annual Arts Festival. The city also hosts Riversing, an independently-produced, day-long musical event.

The American-French Genealogical Society was founded in Pawtucket in 1978.[7]

[edit] Sports

A night game in 2002 at McCoy Stadium
A night game in 2002 at McCoy Stadium

Pawtucket is home to the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate/Minor League team of the Boston Red Sox owned by Ben Mondor; the longest professional baseball game in history was played at McCoy Stadium. Pawtucket has a history of professional baseball dating back to 1892.

In 1934 the Narragansett Race Track opened for Thoroughbred horse racing. Until its closure in 1978 the track hosted several important races that drew some of the top horses from around the United States including Hall of Famers War Admiral, Seabiscuit, and Gun Bow.

[edit] In popular culture

  • The 1999 film Outside Providence is based in Pawtucket.
  • American Buffalo, a 1996 film, was filmed in Pawtucket.
  • Pawtucket has been frequently referenced in the cartoon series Family Guy, specifically the "Pawtucket Brewery" and the character "Pawtucket Pat".
  • In December 1993, a character on the short-lived NBC sitcom "Nurses" called Pawtucket a pit. Then-mayor Bob Metivier appeared on the show months later in a cameo looking for an apology.
  • Tolman High School in Pawtucket Rhode Island is in scenes of The Myrmaid
  • Tolman High School is the first Multi-million dollar high school on the east of the Mississippi it is also the first one to have an indoor pool

[edit] Parks and recreation

Slater Memorial Park has full recreational facilities including, tennis courts and picnic areas. The Looff Carousel in the park was built in 1895 by Charles I. D. Looff and installed in 1910. The carousel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest running Looff carousel in the world.

[edit] Notable people from Pawtucket

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor - History & Culture (U.S. National Park Service)
  4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ http://www.pawtucketri.com/about/2000census.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.pawtucketri.com/about/2000census.pdf
  7. ^ American-French Genealogical Society: Home Page

[edit] External links

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