Pawtucket, RI Road Trips

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.

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. 1 Slater Memorial Park, Entrances at Rt.15 Armistice Blvd. or Rt. 1A Newport Ave, ☏ +1 401 728-0500 ext 257. Park hours from Memorial Day until Labor Day are 8AM-9PM. From Labor Day until Memorial Day 8AM-dusk.. In the heart of the park is a small lake with ducks and swans, the Daggett House, the oldest house in Pawtucket, Daggett Farm, the Loof Carousel which opens in April and closes in, the oldest of its kind, and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society headquarters and Gallery. Ten tennis courts, baseball diamonds, basketball courts and open fields allow for sport recreation all year round. Picnic areas are available for rent and throughout the year, the City of Pawtucket holds Slater Park as a host for seasonal fun for the public. 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 Community Players of Rhode Island, Jenks Junior High School 350 Division Street., ☏ +1 401 726-6860. The Community Players are the oldest established community theater troupe in Rhode Island. The players perform 4 shows (usually two plays and two musicals) that run during the year. The cost for adults is $18 for musicals and $15 for plays, and for children through grade 12, the cost is $15 for musicals and $12 for plays.. The Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St, ☏ +1 401 723-4266. Moved from their previous 75-seat Providence location in 2003, the Gamm Theatre opened in the renovated Pawtucket Armory, a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is among the leading pioneers for the increasing arts in Pawtucket. The Gamm productions in the Armory offer an intimate viewing experience with only 135 seats. Tickets vary in price according to day. Regular tickets range from $24-32 and the Gamm offers senior, student, subscriber, senior subscriber and group discounts as well. The Met, 1005 Main St, ☏ +1 401-729-1005. A midsize music venue in the Hope Artiste Village. The venue hosts bands of all different genres including rock, punk, jazz, hip hop, hardcore and ska. It hosts mostly local musicians, but does host acts too small for Lupos. One of the advantages from the Providence clubs is the free parking, across and down the street are two well-lit free parking lots. On most Sundays there is Open Blues Jam with no cover. Tickets are available now at www.etix.com, F.Y.E. Stores, Round Again Records, In Your Ear and Lupo's box office.

Modern Diner, 364 East Ave, ☏ +1 401 726-8390. Stainless steel diner that was the first diner to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. $8-12. Newport Avenue Pizzeria, 1100 Newport Ave, ☏ +1 401 722-2226. Sandwiches, pasta and pizza. Locally owned and run, with attentive and friendly service and the best steak fries in Pawtucket. They deliver! Liberty Lunch, 732 Central Ave, ☏ +1 401 725-8396. A real down-to-earth diner. Serves very standard all-American meals. Burgers, fries, lots of grease. Good stuff. Famous for their wieners. Great people, great food. Open for breakfast and lunch only. On Fridays they do fish and chips and they are open until 7PM. House of Pizza, 206 Division St (off of I-95 and just down the road from McCoy Stadium), ☏ +1 401-725-9436. House of Pizza is better known as Division Street House of Pizza and has been in business since 1973. Pizza, calzones, grinders, and various sides. On average, small pizzas are $6.85 and large pizzas are $11.45. Small grinders cost $4.70-5.70 and the large ones cost $6.45-7.30. Calzones are either $7.25 or $8.25 and side orders cost $6–6.80. They also have fish and chips on Fridays which is a tradition in Pawtucket and in all of Rhode Island. They don't deliver but you can call ahead and pick up. Garden Grille Cafe, East Ave. Vegetarian. Roast House, 176 Columbus Ave, ☏ +1 401 475-1040. The Roast House is on the corner of Columbus Ave. and George Bennett Hwy. And just around the corner from McCoy Stadium. Burgers $6.59-8.99 and soft drinks $1.99.

Coffee Milk. Hailed as the Rhode Island state drink, this delicious beverage is very hard to find in other parts of the country, even in other parts of New England. It's a Rhode Island specialty. If you've not from Rhode Island, you've got to try it! Recommended brand is Autocrat, which you can find at most supermarkets in Rhode Island (comes as a syrup). Make sure you add a little bit more syrup than the directions say to. Also, lots of Rhode Island restaurants and diners serve it as well. The McDonald's in the area also serve coffee shakes, which are also impossible to find in most other states. Celtic Pub, Broadway. Galway Bay, South Bend St. Twin's Pizza (The Best Pizza Ever (No Really)), 1000 Mineral Spring Ave, ☏ +1 401 726-8978. 11AM-10PM. They've been in the same location for over 40 years. Other dishes are tasty as well and the cost is very reasonable. Expect a very long wait on weekends. low. Smug Brewing Company, 100 Carver Street, ☏ +1 401-642-5701.

1 Hampton Inn Pawtucket, 2 George St, ☏ +1 401 723-6700. Minutes from downtown Pawtucket, Slater Mill and McCoy Stadium.

T.F. Green Airport (PVD IATA) is about a 20-minute drive from Pawtucket. PVD is a national airport with connecting international flights. Logan International Airport (BOS IATA) is an hour away in Boston, Massachusetts and is an international airport. 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. Route 95 runs right through Pawtucket. Exit 29 (from 95N) will bring you to Central Avenue, from which you can easily get downtown. 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.

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