По́кеткет: история, население и современность.

City in Rhode Island

The name "Pawtucket" comes from the Algonquian word for "river fall." The Pawtucket region was said to have been one of the most populous places in New England prior to the arrival of European settlers. American Indians would catch the salmon and smaller fish that gathered at the falls. Perhaps the most impressive public building in Pawtucket was the Leroy Theatre, an ornate movie palace that was called "Pawtucket's Million Dollar Theater". In 1922, it was affected by the 1922 New England Textile Strike, shutting down the mills in the city over an attempted wage cut and hours increase. The textile business in New England declined during the Great Depression, with many manufacturers closing or moving their facilities to the South where operations and labor were cheaper. Later in the 20th century, Pawtucket began to lose some of its architectural heritage to the wrecking ball, including the Leroy Theatre.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23 km2), of which, 8.7 square miles (23 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (1 km2) of it (2.89%) is water. Pawtucket lies within three drainage basins. These include the Blackstone River (including the Seekonk River), the Moshassuck River and the Ten Mile River.

The 2020 United States census counted 75,604 people, 31,565 households, and 17,202 families in Pawtucket. The population density was 8,723.2 per square mile (3,368.0/km). There were 33,832 housing units at an average density of 3,903.5 per square mile (1,507.2/km). The racial makeup was 49.59% (37,492) white or European American (45.54% non Hispanic white), 13.01% (9,836) black or African American, 0.63% (475) Native American or Alaska Native, 1.51% (1,140) Asian, 0.08% (57) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 16.44% (12,429) from other races, and 18.75% (14,175) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 24.77% (18,727) of the population. Of the 31,565 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18; 32.4% were married couples living together; 34.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.5% of households consisted of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 16.3% of the population. 21.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 107.4 males. The median income for those above 16 years old was $35,243 (+/ $1,022). Approximately, 11.4% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under the age of 18 and 14.4% of those ages 65 or over.

As of the census Like nearby cities Providence, Fall River, and New Bedford, Pawtucket hosts a significant population from across the former Portuguese Empire (11.6%), Pawtucket has a high concentration of West Africans.

Hasbro, a Fortune 1000 toy and game making company, is headquartered in Pawtucket. Many healthcare, retail and insurance companies are headquartered in Pawtucket. Fox Point Pickles, a pickling company, is headquartered in Pawtucket.

The City of Pawtucket has been supportive of the arts community since 1975. On September 2, 1977, the Beach Boys performed a concert at Narragansett Park attended by 40,000 people, the largest concert audience in Rhode Island history. In 2017, music historians Al Gomes and Connie Watrous of Big Noise were successful in getting the street where the concert stage stood (the corner of 511 Narragansett Park Drive) officially renamed as "Beach Boys Way". In January 1999, Herb Weiss, of the Planning Department, was hired to oversee the city's newly created Arts District. Through the support of then Mayor James E. Doyle and Planning Department Michael Cassidy, Weiss brought significant recognition for Pawtucket Arts oriented development strategy. Mayor Doyle and Weiss hired researcher Ann Galligan, of Northeastern University, to create an arts and cultural plan. Over the years Pawtucket has become a center for arts and culture. Several experimental/indie rock bands have recorded albums at Machines with Magnets, a recording studio and art gallery in Downtown Pawtucket. Bands that have performed or recorded here include Battles, Lightning Bolt, Brown Bird, and Fang Island. One hub for arts and culture in the city is Lorraine Mills, a repurposed mill building on the eastern side of the city, which houses institutions including Mixed Magic Theatre, Wage House (comedy club), Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, and Crooked Current Brewery. Each September, the city, in conjunction with the Pawtucket Arts Festival Board of Directors, members chosen from the community, produce an annual citywide Arts Festival. Pawtucket is home to McCoy Stadium, where the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, played from 1970 to 2020. The team was owned by Ben Mondor until his death and was sold by his estate. The longest professional baseball game in history, 33 innings, was played at McCoy Stadium in 1981. Pawtucket has a history of professional baseball dating back to 1892, including the Pawtucket Maroons and Pawtucket Indians. The PawSox franchise was relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts, to become the Worcester Red Sox beginning with the 2021 season. In 2024, Rhode Island FC, of the USL Championship, will have its inaugural season. Starting in 2025, the team will play at a soccer specific stadium along the Seekonk River. The team is headquartered in Pawtucket. In 1934, the Narragansett Park 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 Fame members; Seabiscuit, War Admiral and Gun Bow.

The Quality Hill section of Pawtucket is home to St. Raphael Academy. It is a private college preparatory school founded on the basis of St. John the Baptist de la Salle. "Saints" is a small school consisting of roughly 500 students with a student to teacher ratio of about 15:2. The "Saints and Lady Saints" are very successful in sports including baseball, football, basketball, and softball. St. Raphael Academy is a rival of William E. Tolman. The two schools took part in a Thanksgiving Day football game that was played in McCoy Stadium for over 70 years, though game is no longer played. William E. Tolman now competes annually against its fellow Pawtucket public high school Charles E. Shea, rather than against St. Raphael Academy, a private Catholic high school. Pawtucket was home to Bishop Keough High School, a small all girls Catholic high school in the Fairlawn neighborhood. The city also has three Catholic elementary schools: St. Cecilia School, St. Teresa School and Woodlawn Catholic Regional School.

Pawtucket is served by several RIPTA local bus routes plus the R Line. Pawtucket/Central Falls station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line opened on January 23, 2023, replacing the former station that closed in 1981.

Interstate 95 and U. S. 1 also traverse the western part of Pawtucket. Some of the slowest posted speeds on I 95 are in the city due to the "S curves" near downtown. To preserve certain buildings in the city, planners snaked I 95, creating sharp bends in the highway.

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. 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. There are no longer signs for the circulator, though the road configuration remains. Providence's Downtown Ring Roads have suffered a similar fate.