DESIGN Landscape LANDSCAPE PLAN
GOAL
Make downtown Pawtucket greener
PROPOSAL
Highlight the river and support health in its watershed Pawtucket, like many cities in the Northeast United States, has a rich industrial heritage based on energy and commerce derived from it’s river. In 1790, Samuel Slater built the second American cotton mill in Pawtucket, RI and this mill is the central reference point of the early rise of the Industrial Revolution in America today. Post-industrial cities turned their backs to the river but with current efforts being made to clean the rivers, we can again turn our urban design attention back to the water as a natural and cultural resource. River edges The Pawtucket River is the portion of the Blackstone River which lies in the City of Pawtucket. The Blackstone River runs from Worcester, MA to Pawtucket Falls, just south of the Slater Mill at the Main Street bridge. At this point the river turns tidal and is named the Seekonk River. The original native American name for the river was the “Kittacuck”, which meant “the great tidal river”. During the industrial revolution, and due to the proliferation of mills along its shores, it was dubbed “America’s hardest working river.” The edges or banks of the Pawtucket River are currently a combination of exposed geologic strata and WPA (Works Progress Administration)-era concrete bulkheads. Native and invasive plants have found refuge in silt deposits along the banks of the river. Pollution and contamination Much of the pollution from the Industrial Revolution lies trapped in the river sediment, especially at the dams. In recent years, pollution can be traced to the wastewater treatment plant in Worchester, Massachusetts, which discharges into the Blackstone. In 1990, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called it “the most polluted river in the country with respect to toxic sediments” and in 1998 it was made “An American Heritage River” in an effort to protect and clean it. River cleanup is still underway. Today, the Blackstone is considered a Class C River, suitable only for “secondary contact” activities like boating, for much of its length. Pawtucket’s three bridges The Pawtucket River and it’s combination of bridges and falls is unique. Pawtucket’s three bridges - the Main Street Bridge, designed by Luther Kingsley in 1858 to replace earlier bridges; the Division Street Bridge, designed by Horace Foster in 1876; and the Exchange Street Bridge, designer unknown in 1928 - connect each side of the city and provide visual access to the deeply incised river. Events such as the Dragon Boat and Columbian Festivals make the river a destination for locals and tourists.
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PDDP DESIGN