I have plans to take a day trip to Woonsocket this upcoming Wednesday. Any recommendations for cool things to see/check out?

Submitted by PinkSwallowLove t3_1177agy in RhodeIsland

I live in Newport currently and I have been lucky enough to explore the many towns and cities that make up Rhode Island. One exception has been Woonsocket, I’ve never had the chance to take a trip there.

Now, I know what many of you may be thinking, “why would you want to go to Woonsocket?” I know it is an economically depressed place and that it has a lot of problems but I don’t want to let that stop me from exploring it, Woonsocket isn’t impossibly irreparable after all, things can get better; but I digress.

So, what cool things should I check out? Any scenic walkways by the river? Theaters? Public library? Parks? Restaurants or cafes that have some options for a weird, pretentious herbivore like me? Museums or art galleries or bookstores? Food co-ops or natural food stores?

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate it with the whole of my ravaged and pretentious heart.

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Maleficent_Weird8613 t1_j9ads36 wrote

Ummm... Museum of work and culture is a great place. Chan's Chinese food is good. Three Rivers is good. Ye old Fish and Chips too. Woonsocket is a fantastic and odd place. 90% of downtown was bulldozed and they built ugly buildings in its place. Check out precious blood cemetery and see my relatives and tell them hi for me.

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obadiaowl t1_j9ai182 wrote

if your into vintage and thrifting the salvation army is one of the best around the savers too. and a few reasonably priced vintage antique/junk shops.

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nathanaz t1_j9ajdb4 wrote

You could hit Ye Olde Fish & Chips for lunch. Old school fish and chips place that is supposed to be the best.

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vilake2014 t1_j9ak9mi wrote

You could check out Krakow deli, great selection of Polish food and snacks then head over to Blackstone river park. Amazing place to walk and enjoy nature.

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samskeyti_ t1_j9akgq9 wrote

Not a lot of herbivore options in Woonsocket. On the way to Woonsocket is Blackie’s in Smithfield, and they have a very diverse menu and vegan options that a lot of people love. Just throwing that out there.

Lops is a nice brewery.

Christopher’s and Ciro’s are good restaurants, but not sure how many herbivore options there are there. River View is typical unseasoned “American” food. Woonsocket is known for their French meat pies, dynamites (a spin on hot weiners) and Kay’s Restaurant (meat sandwiches) so not a lot there for options for you. Krakow Deli is a great Polish bakery, but mostly meat items. Not pointing that out to be rude, just laying out the field for you :)

Assuming you do not eat dairy, but if you do, Wright’s Dairy Farm on Woonsocket Hill Road in North Smithfield (just a few minutes from city limits) is known regionally for their pastry as well as their milk.

For things to do, Stadium Theatre is nice, as well as the Museum of Work and Culture. Millrace

St Ann Arts and Cultural Center has the largest collection of fresco paintings in North America, but tours are only on Sundays. :(

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jackodn t1_j9aomaq wrote

Have a perfect manhattan at the old time bar at Kay’s.

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lovegiblet t1_j9aovfy wrote

On main st, at the entrance to the city hall, is a plaque commemorating Abraham Lincoln speaking there on his campaign in 1860, just as he was blowing up. Lincoln has no beard on the plaque, I love it so much.

Nearby at the train station is a statue of the dog Hachi. The Richard Gere movie about a dog who waits for his owner was filmed here. I love it so much.

At Precious Blood cemetery, corner of Rathbun and Diamond Hill, is the grave of Little Rose. She was a lady who was bedridden her whole life and developed stigmata on her palms and forehead. There’s a museum in town but its only open like once a month. The grave has pamphlets in English and Spanish though. From the secondary entrance on Rathbun, her grave is on the corner in front and right of you. I love seeing church groups praying at it, I love it so much.

Gosh, I love Woonsocket so much.

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MarieTC t1_j9apxzn wrote

If you’re going to be there in the evening Chan’s Jazz club is an awesome place to see live music - a lot of big names have played there Not sure what’s going on Wednesday Food’s not bad either!

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Bigbird163 t1_j9b50w8 wrote

Seconding the work and culture museum. It’s an absolute awesome look into the history of not only the city but the area and it’s history of mills as a whole.

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zjanderson t1_j9b55a1 wrote

Ye Olde and New York Lunch. Maybe Chan’s if you’re into egg rolls and jazz.

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Safe-Researcher-8071 t1_j9b7i2n wrote

I would recommend visiting any other place in Rhode island. 🤣🤣 That's like going to California to visit the slums. The moment you enter that town, it's reeks of sewage, i also watched a guy pull a gun on another dude over money.

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anabbleaday t1_j9b9l4h wrote

The Stadium Theater in the center of town has some fun and affordable productions sometimes. I saw a great rendition of La Cage aux Folles there as well as A Christmas Carol.

Everyone gets down on Woonsocket, and I get it — it doesn’t have a lot of money and has higher than average crime rates. That being said, I’ve lived here for a year, and every person I’ve met has been kind to me. I’ve had no issues with crime and have had some great experiences here (including the variety of events, like Autumnfest, which I highly recommend). I grew up in a pretty economically depressed area, so I’m biased, but people tend to blow some things way out of proportion.

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iandavid t1_j9bda7z wrote

One thing that fascinates me about Woonsocket is that there were some major floods in the middle of the 20th century, and after that the Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the entire Blackstone River through downtown to prevent future floods. So if you walk by the river now, it’s all levees and riprap, like you might find along the Mississippi.

One way to see that is on a section of bike path that starts in Cold Spring Park and heads north along the river past some old mills, up to the state line. Massachusetts is planning on building a connecting path on an old railroad viaduct, which will connect to the existing path that goes from Blackstone to Millville.

And that Blackstone-to-Millville section is a nice walk in itself – about halfway in you cross the Triad Bridge, with the river and the Providence & Worcester Railroad beneath you. Piers are visible for a third bridge, never finished, that would have taken the Southern New England Railway from Palmer, MA to Providence. The owner went down with the Titanic, which may or may not be the reason it was never finished.

Further up that same bike path, off to the right, is Millville Lock, one of the best preserved locks of the Blackstone Canal. And the Blackstone Gorge is accessible nearby, which I haven’t been to, but I’ve heard is a fairly dramatic water feature relative to one’s expectations about Rhode Island’s geography and natural beauty.

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deadl0ckx2 t1_j9bfkij wrote

The best part of Woonsocket is the town line, because it means you’re only a step away from not being in Woonsocket.

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scoutydouty t1_j9bj92v wrote

The center of the city has the Stadium Theatre if you'd like to see some decent shows. There's also many restaurants. Not sure about vegan options however.

The museum of work and culture is pretty interesting on the history of the area.

The Blackstone bike path has a few separate entrances, the one I usually explore is Hamlet Ave entrance.

If you go into the woods behind St. Joseph's Veteran's Association on Louise St, you will find some relatively undisturbed woods by the river.

South Main St has some stunning Victorian Era houses to admire.

There are many parks to visit. I like Globe Park, Cold Spring Park, and Cass Park personally.

There's Aero Trampoline Park, a couple of decent thrift stores.

I personally wouldn't recommend Chan's as everyone else has. My best friend worked there and he claims the roach problem is extremely bad. I wouldn't touch that place with a 10 foot pole, the owner, John Chan, is in corrupt cahoots with the local government to pass health inspections he should NOT be passing.

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SharpCookie232 t1_j9bqj7q wrote

Seconding some of the highlights from this thread: Blackstone Valley bike path is very well maintained and is beautiful at any time of year, Stadium Theater is a historic site as is St. Ann's - both worth the trip (if they are open while you're there), the Museum of Work and Culture is excellent, as is Precious Blood Cemetery, which has monuments like the Angel of Grief, that rival those in nationally-renowned cemeteries like Sleepy Hollow, Swan Point, and Mt. Auburn.

As others have mentioned, although there are a lot of great restaurants, there's not a lot of vegetarian food on offer in Woonie. You might want to visit Wright's Dairy Farm, just over the line in North Smithfield and enjoy a pastry and some local coffee milk. Or try an ethnic restaurant like Swagat or the Boss.

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Jessegilljr1118 t1_j9buowq wrote

No everything here fucking sucks maybe just moonlight wieners or a restaurant

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RivalSFx t1_j9c47xg wrote

If you do stop by Ye Olde English Fish & Chips, right around the corner is the old train station and the statue of Hachi. If you've never seen the movie it's a modern day version of an incredible true dog story and worth you looking up the movie and the older story.

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lovegiblet t1_j9c7mwz wrote

OH - Swagat Indian on Diamond Hill Rd is good for a pretentious herbivore - a very decent small Indian market with a food counter for dosas & such.

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SolidDecent2259 t1_j9cddsl wrote

The Chinese buffet in Woonsocket is really good if you like crab Rangoons and that type stuff

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PiCKeT401 t1_j9cg0x4 wrote

Long time resident here. I want to second the suggestion for Saint Ann's. It's an absolutely breathtaking piece of art. As far somewhere to eat it looks like Ciros is a good balance of what you're looking for. I have been meaning to get over to that polish bakery though, the pictures on Facebook look delicious. Another thing I haven't seen mentioned is Candy and nuts next to McDonald's at park Square. It's exactly what it says it is but still a unique shop in the city. Oh! And almost all of the crime that is here never was toward me. Even going to "bad" parts of town wasn't a problem.

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antoneg123 t1_j9cj18r wrote

Technically not in Woonsocket, but minutes away, Wright's Dairy Farm for great baked goods and fresh coffee milk. Love this place.

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wrap_urXhaustpipes t1_j9d2k68 wrote

I would not recommend coming to check out Woonsocket. There’s not MUCH to see. The stadium theater will have bands or plays every once in a while, but i don’t know about a Wednesday afternoon. There’s lops brewing which is a small brewery with good beer. Maybe get lunch at New York lunch. Or, you could go check out the eternal C team of strippers that comprise RI Dolls

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cdiairsoft t1_j9ddo4h wrote

The Wonton Don did a fabulous travel vid of Woonsocket, it's on YouTube. You can go to one of the Dollar Trees to see the manager verbally abuse his employees and make them cry. Savini's, Christopher's, Ciro's, and Tacos Don Nacho are fantastic places to grab a meal. If you like to get black out drunk, the local Applebees can get you white girl wasted in minutes. Also, if you like Martinis, go to Savini's and ask them to make you a martini that's dirtier than a Woonsocket street walker.

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sarabethg99 t1_j9duxqc wrote

I don’t have any recommendations unfortunately, but I just want to say I love that you’re making an effort to find the beauty in places that locals tend to overlook or turn their noses up at. There are so many underrated places in this state. 😌

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becauseimsandy t1_j9e61se wrote

Thai Garden is the top spot for really good Thai/Lao cuisine in Woonsocket. Right next door is a great restaurant/bar called Ciro's Tavern.

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Bufb88J t1_j9f10so wrote

Just moved from Texas and somehow landed in Bellingham. So many great options I’m gonna try all of the good ones. Lol.

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iandavid t1_j9f978q wrote

Replying to sarabethg99 (#1,896,115)

Hear hear. I also love that for every comment alleging that there’s nothing good about Woonsocket, there’s at least two others pointing out cool things to do, see or eat. Makes me wonder how much nicer our little state could be if more of us sought out the good things instead of harping on the bad.

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twistedredd t1_j9fauyu wrote

lot's of history in the mill area, some converted to parks, where my grandparents worked

the old movie theater on main street

social ocean is a park now, nice walk through, they have the oktoberfest event there

old old old very large and regal victorian houses in a section of woonsocket that's quite nice but can't say where

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Opticalpopsicle1074 t1_j9fhwtu wrote

Replying to iandavid (#1,887,342)

My dad has a story about the flood that happened there when he was a kid…. Bodies were being washed out of the cemetery and floating down the street. He had to participate in the clean-up because his dad was the assistant fire chief. Wild.

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Opticalpopsicle1074 t1_j9fiik4 wrote

Wait…. You are going to leave the island and go to the mainland? That’s too far.

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