Ron Newman
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 8,395
- Reaction score
- 9
[spinning off a new thread from this one, where Lrfox said:]
OK, I finally got to Woonsocket yesterday. Took my bike on the train to South Attleboro, rode a couple miles to Valley Falls where the Blackstone River Bikeway starts, and rode it all the way to the end in Woonsocket.
The bikeway is stunningly beautiful, but .... Woonsocket? That's one of the most depressing places I've ever visited.
The dam is impressive, as are the Stadium Theatre and the disused but pristine-looking old train station. I'd probably have enjoyed the Museum of Work and Culture if I'd arrived earlier in the day (it closes at 4 pm, I got there at 4:30).
But the rest of it? Lots of empty storefronts, We Buy Gold shops. non-profit agencies occupying what should be retail frontage, a big parking lot where the town common should be ... bleh.
A storefront downtown had signs asking for people with good voices. I peeked in expecting to see a radio studio, but instead saw what looked like a shady boiler room full of people on phones.
Where the bike path currently ends, a huge mill was being demolished, and the people I talked to said there were no plans for what would go there next.
Should I give it another chance? What did I miss that I should have seen? I guess I was expecting another Pawtucket or Lowell, and was pretty disappointed. Supposedly CVS is headquartered there, but I never found their office building.
I LOVE Woonsocket. It's gritty, old and a bit run down. However, it has a very cool, very urban downtown area. It has a ton of French Canadian heritage and a lot of interesting places in the city center. Great architecture too. I know there are specific sites, but I would just head downtown and explore.
OK, I finally got to Woonsocket yesterday. Took my bike on the train to South Attleboro, rode a couple miles to Valley Falls where the Blackstone River Bikeway starts, and rode it all the way to the end in Woonsocket.
The bikeway is stunningly beautiful, but .... Woonsocket? That's one of the most depressing places I've ever visited.
The dam is impressive, as are the Stadium Theatre and the disused but pristine-looking old train station. I'd probably have enjoyed the Museum of Work and Culture if I'd arrived earlier in the day (it closes at 4 pm, I got there at 4:30).
But the rest of it? Lots of empty storefronts, We Buy Gold shops. non-profit agencies occupying what should be retail frontage, a big parking lot where the town common should be ... bleh.
A storefront downtown had signs asking for people with good voices. I peeked in expecting to see a radio studio, but instead saw what looked like a shady boiler room full of people on phones.
Where the bike path currently ends, a huge mill was being demolished, and the people I talked to said there were no plans for what would go there next.
Should I give it another chance? What did I miss that I should have seen? I guess I was expecting another Pawtucket or Lowell, and was pretty disappointed. Supposedly CVS is headquartered there, but I never found their office building.