Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

 

The Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket for 25 Years.

 

For 25 years the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket has welcomed travelers to Rhode Island. The Visitor Center opened in September of 1999 to great fanfare and at a cost of about $500,000. It came about with the City of Pawtucket taking the first step in 1997 by opening a demonstrative Visitor Center at the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Ave. In 1999, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor, The Old Slater Mill Association and the City of Pawtucket worked together to construct and open a 12,000 square foot, first floor Visitor Center, with a 90-seat theater, in a building vacated by the Peerless Department Store. It was one of four Visitor Centers constructed along the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. The city's redevelopment agency purchased the building for the Visitor Center’s use and for the city's Department of Planning. Through the years the building housed Salve Regina University and the Department of Labor and Training. It has since been sold to Pet Food Experts.

 

In the first ten years the Center welcomed 80,000 to 100,000 visitors a year to Pawtucket. These days, with mobile phones offering detailed information and mapping, the Visitor Center welcomes about 1,000 to 1,500 people each month. Nonetheless, the visitors welcomed are interested in Pawtucket, the Blackstone Valley and Rhode Island, and each one has an economic value. Today the Center is home to the Old Slater Mill Association and its industrial archives, The Ocean State Center for Independent Living, a television production studio, and the Rhode Island Football Club.

 

The Visitor Center continues today to host an indoor waiting area for RIPTA riders, a warming or cooling center when needed, and an early voting center for Pawtucket. It continues to tell the story of America's Industrial beginnings and welcomes people to our state. According to Robert Billington, President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, "the effort to bring visitors to Blackstone Valley is more important today than ever. Having a knowledgeable staff and welcoming faces at our Visitor Center to assist people on their journey in Rhode Island, can make all the difference in our economy and our reputation". 

 

Contact: Robert Billington, 401-569-3244, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 
 
All eyes are on Atlanta tonight for the first presidential debate of 2024. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be on stage at the CNN Studios for the first of two-currently-planned major debates ahead of this November's election. The 90-minute event will begin at 9 Eastern tonight.       A new poll of likely voters reports former President Trump is beating President Biden by four-points. The New York Times/Siena College found that 48-percent of likely voters said they'd vote for Trump in a hypothetical matchup between him and Biden. Meanwhile, 44-percent said they'd vote for Biden.       Boeing is getting sanctioned for disclosing information on the investigation into the 737 Max that experienced a door panel blowout in January. The National Transportation Safety Board said today that Boeing on Tuesday shared information that hadn't been cleared, violating an agreement with the regulator. The agency also said that Boeing mischaracterized the investigation as looking for a person responsible for the door panel, when instead it's looking for the probable cause of the accident.       The Supreme Court is blocking Purdue Pharma's opioid settlement. It ruled today the settlement inappropriately included legal protections for the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue. But that also threatens billions of dollars it secured for victims. As part of the deal, the Sackler family agreed to pay six-billion-dollars to settle opioid-related claims, but only in return for a complete release from any future liability.       The typical new home built in the US today is markedly smaller than those built a decade ago. According to The National Association of Home Builders, the typical buyer today wants a home that is just over two-thousand-square-feet. New homes have been shrinking since 2015 when the average home size peaked at 26-hundred square-feet. Whether as a reaction to high prices or because they simply want a smaller space, experts say homebuyers today are asking for smaller homes.       Simone Biles is working to secure her spot in her third Olympic Games. U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials begin this week in Minneapolis. Biles is among 16 women and 20 men trying to book their spot in Paris. Meanwhile, three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas was going to try out for this year's team after time away, but that ended after she sustained an ankle injury.       

Old News Archives