The building housed the city's welfare offices after the post office closed until the 1970s. Plans were put in place to connect it to the adjacent library building, which is also listed on the Register. The work was completed in 1982 and the former post office was given its current name.

The Gerald S. Burns Building was built in 1896 as a federal post office. It is now part of the public library.

Website

Now a part of the Pawtucket Public Library, the Gerald S. Burns Building was the city's official post office from 1896 (when it was built) to the 1940s. It was designed by notable architects William Martin Aiken and James Knox Taylor, both of whom were supervising architects of the United States Treasury Department and many other federal buildings around the country. They designed it in the Beau Arts style, which gained popularity after the Chicago World's Fair, which took place in 1893. The building features many distinguishing elements including the dome, arches, and two Doric columnns at what was the former entrance. When it was built, citizens considered it an affirmation of Pawtucket's importance as one of the nation's key industrial centers and as a symbol of its prosperity of growth during the previous century (cotton milling began here in the early 1790s). It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. 

Gerald S. Burns Building

This tour starts at the Pawtucket Times Building and includes stops at landmark buildings such as the Deborah Cook Sayles Library, Burn Building, Bridge Mill Power Plant, City Hall, the Pawtucket Armory, and several historic churches and monuments. A highlight of the tour includes a stop at the Slater Mill Museum. 

<div>This building served as the headquarters to the <i>Pawtucket Times</i>, the longest running newspaper in Pawtucket’s history. George O. Willard founded the paper in 1885 as an afternoon daily, known as <i>The Evening Times</i>. David O. Black, manager of the <i>Providence Telegram</i>, purchased the paper five years and built up its circulation. The newspaper initially operated at 170 Main Street in Pawtucket before Black commissioned the now-historical building in 1895 as the newspaper’s new home; the first publishing at the building occurred on March 1, 1896.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Typical of numerous 19th-century urban centers, newspapers were prevalent. Roughly a dozen various newspapers operated in Pawtucket during the period when the Times emerged, but most of them failed quickly. When the Times first published in 1885, success quickly followed, especially after David 0. Black purchased the paper in 1890. Circulation numbers in 1885 amounted to 3,500, which rose to nearly 15,000 the first year after Black took the helm.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Four generations of the Black family managed the <i>Pawtucket Times</i> before selling it in 1957 to New England Newspapers Inc., which later transitioned to Ingersoll Publications. And then in 1989, the Journal Register<i> </i>company purchased Ingersoll and controlled the Times as part of that operation until 2007, when the company sold the <i>Times</i> to Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Pawtucket Times Building, in conjunction with the adjoining Pawtucket Elks Lodge Building, stands as one of few remnants of genuinely urban streetscape remaining in Pawtucket. As noted in the nomination form to the National Register of Historic Places, "Vertically, the five-story facade follows the traditional three-part formula of base (stone and glass ground floor), body (the three middle floors of yellow brick with limestone trim), and cap (the attic story with its ornate terra-cotta). The specific details of the facade are classically inspired as well, although there is a distinctly Colonial Revival flavor in the middle three stories."&nbsp;</div>

The five-story, Colonial Romanesque Revival style, Pawtucket Times Building was completed in 1895 and served as the headquarters of the Pawtucket Times, the longest running newspaper in Pawtucket history. The paper started in 1885 as an evening paper during a time when cities of this size usually had several numerous competing newspapers. the Pawtucket Times emerged as the most commercially successful of nearly twelve other papers in the city. The times remained independent and locally owned until 1957 when it was acquired by New England Newspapers Incorporated. 

The Pawtucket Times Building

<div><div>Though this building was&nbsp;constrcuted&nbsp;at the turn of the century, the history of the Pawtucket Library Association dates back to its incorporation in February 1852 when the Pawtucket Library Association managed to raise $1,000 so it could purchase the local Freemasons library.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1876, the Town Council took control of the library and ownership of its book collection. The library gained notoriety for its progressiveness, notably instituting an "open shelf" system, allowing children under the age of 14 to use the library, and opening a Sunday reading room that permitted workers (who routinely worked Monday through Saturday) to enjoy the library.<br><br></div>Pawtucket grew as a mill town, benefiting financially from robust trade related to agriculture and industry during the second half of the 19th century. By the turn of the century, the city sought to develop the town beyond its role as a center of trade and growing industrial core. Partly for civic pride and also to counteract "sin behavior," this library and other civic institutions received the support of leading residents.<br><br></div><div>As a result of founder Frederic Sayles' travels to Europe, the library was built using a design that stands as a striking example of Greek revival architecture. The library is comprised of fine-grained white granite and a large portico bounded by four massive columns at its former entrance. The front doorway of the building is an exact replica of the Erechtheion, a Greek temple on the Acropolis at Athens.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>By the turn of the century, an increasing need, and desire, for a permanent building arose.&nbsp;<br>Pawtucket had gained a reputation as an industrial center, dating back to 1790 when Samuel Slater arrived and opened the first successful cotton mill in the United States (which also points to a time in the U.S. when cotton existed as a considerable portion of the U.S. economy). Thus, cotton helped Pawtucket achieve economic growth within the textile industry. <br><br>By the end of the nineteenth century, residents increasingly pushed to erect structures physically expressive of the town's prosperity, as well as provide leisure and beauty to its residents. Because, like many cities during the Industrial Revolution, libraries and other institutions served to bolster civic pride and instill a notion of an urban center maturing beyond its industrial core, often referred to as urban or civic boosterism (especially in analyzing western cities during that period). As well, progressives sought methods for which the "ills" of urbanization and industrialization could be curtailed, including providing an alternative to "sin behavior" such as spending time at taverns. <br><br>Hence, in 1890, the city celebrated the Cotton Centennial, and by the late 1890s, the library building emerged, serving both to enhance civic pride and enhance progressive ideals.&nbsp; In fact, at the dedication in 1902, Rev. George Harris said, "So this temple is dedicated to learning, to education, to the purest enjoyment of the people of Pawtucket, to promote the welfare of the city, to advance the interests of citizenship in an intelligent democracy."</div>

Fredric Clark Sayles, the first mayor of Pawtucket, gifted the Deborah Cook Sayles Library to the city in 1898. After first providing the land, he traveled to Europe and sought architectural inspiration from Europe’s grand libraries. The builders laid the cornerstone on November 18, 1899, and the library opened to the public three years later on October 15, 1902, named for the mayor's late wife, Deborah Cook Sayles. The library is inspired by ancient Greek architecture and was renown for its progressive and permissive attitude towards patrons. While many libraries in the late 19th century were only accessible to subscribing members, this library operated under what was known as an "open shelf" policy. The library was also known for its policy of allowing children to use the library and hours of operation that included Sundays for to accommodate mill workers.

Deborah Cook Sayles Library

<div>The Bridge Mill Power Plant (1893-94) is located on the western bank of the Seekonk River roughly 125 feet below Pawtucket Falls. This facility once served a part of a densely built-up industrial section of Pawtucket near the town's commercial hub. The Bridge Mill Power Plant stands as the last remaining building built in the nineteenth century, a reminder of a time when the industrial revolution highly affected culture including inspiring society to figure out ways to "own" water and water flow, as well as treat it as part of a "machine."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When built, the Bridge Mill Plant generated electricity via water and/or steam power.&nbsp; The red brick&nbsp;flat-roofed building rises three stories at its highest points and is comprised of three principal sections -- the gatehouse, powerhouse, and boiler house. The small, north block of the building contains the gates and hoists required to control the flow of water into the powerhouse, located in the central portion of the building and where five pairs of 33-inch turbines once operated.&nbsp; dominate the central portion. Meanwhile, steam engines located in the boiler room served as a backup for providing energy to the turbines during the dry season.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In the mid-1880s, members of the Goff family of Pawtucket began buying up the various small lots and the much-divided water privileges on the western side of Pawtucket Falls with the intention of developing a grand commercial and manufacturing district. Thus, the Goff family required the construction of a plant able to generate power to a host of industrial buildings. However, the plant appears to have been the only piece of the Goff's broader plan to have come to fruition.&nbsp; Shortly after the plant's completion, the Goff-owned Bridge Mill Power Company merged into the Pawtucket Electric Lighting Company (owned by the Pawtucket Gas Company) to form the new Pawtucket Electric Company.&nbsp;</div>

This structure was constructed in 1893 and reflects the need for water-generated power during the Industrial Revolution. At this time, governments and private businesses negotiated the concept of rights-of-way on waterways as well as competition for natural resources and controlling sections of waterways and the flow of water. Darius Goff and his sons Darius II & Lyman paid local governments for control of water & water flow in Pawtucket during the 1890s as part of their effort to build an expansive industrial district that could be powered by this facility which was known as the Bridge Mill Power Plant. Though their original plan to build a massive industrial complex did not materialize, the plant became part of the Pawtucket Electric Company and helped generate power to the area through the 1960s. 

Bridge Mill Power Plant

<p>

</p><p>Samuel Slater was a leading innovator during the American Industrial Revolution. He was born in England, where he apprenticed in a cotton manufacturing company.&nbsp; After years of training and hard work,&nbsp;Slater became a superintendent at the company.&nbsp; In Great Britain, it was illegal to share the secrets of the textile industry. It was also illegal for those who were employed in the industry, and therefore privy to those trade secrets, to leave the country.&nbsp; Samuel Slater covertly emigrated to the United States in 1789, with the plans and procedures for a textile factory ingrained in his memory.&nbsp;</p><p>

</p><p>The mill was built in 1793 and served produced cotton threading until 1829. It became a place that many families and children depended on for work and the founder, Samuel Slater hired all of the members of the family. &nbsp;He built tenements for them to live and a store which sold their basic necessities. He &nbsp;essentially created a small, family-oriented village for his workers. This system was referred to as the “Rhode Island System.”</p><p>

</p><p>In Slater’s factory, jobs were also broken down into simple tasks.&nbsp; Workers could focus on the one or two tasks that they were responsible for and then move the product down the line to the person responsible for the next task. This system was meant to assemble the products quickly and efficiently, and with less room for error.&nbsp; Also, some of the tasks were so simple that children as young as 4 years old could work in the factory with the rest of their families.</p><p>

</p><p>In addition to Slater Mill, there are two other historic sites located on the property: The Sylvanus Brown House and the Wilkinson Mill. The Sylvanus Brown House, the oldest building on the site, is typical of the mid-late eighteenth century. The house was built elsewhere in 1758 but moved closer to the mill in the 1960s. Most of the building is the original structure.&nbsp; Only the basement and the chimney were added later.&nbsp; The furnishings are not necessarily those that belonged to the original family, however, they are typical of the early nineteenth century.&nbsp; The home is also equipped with a loom, spinning wheel and other tools used to make cloth by hand. Inside homes like the Brown House, the women and children would clean and card the wool, spin the yarn, and weave cloth. The mills constructed around the same time industrialized this process, using machines to generate the same work.&nbsp;</p><p>

</p><p>The Wilkinson Mill was constructed in 1810, nearly twenty years after the Slater Mill was first built.&nbsp; The interesting thing about the Wilkinson Mill is that is shows what strides had been taken in the industrial process over just two decades. It is larger than the Slater Mill and has its own machine repair shop on the first floor.&nbsp; Its walls are made of stone rather than wood, to reduce the chance of fire (which was rampant in many factories).</p><p>

</p><p>Subsequent owners and renters used the building to make jewelry tools, coffin trimmings, and even for bike sales. In 1923 an organization arose with the goals of replenishing the mill to the shape it had been in in the late 1800s and the mill blossomed into a museum which was opened to the public in 1955. Several years later, it became the first property to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is home to many workshop opportunities for the public use. The Slater Mill area is now considered a living history museum, educational center and community center. The museum contains acres of land on both sides of the river as well as a dam.</p><p>

</p>

Slater Mill Museum preserves the site and equipment of the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in North America. The Pawtucket Mill was based on smuggled designs brought to America and based on the system designed in England by Richard Arkwright. The mill used drawing, carding and spinning machines and a system where jobs were divided into smaller tasks to make assembly more efficient. The original mill was built in 1793, but more demand prompted the owners to expand the mill over time. The museum complex includes two other historic sites: the Sylvanus Brown House and the Wilkinson Mill. The mill complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. 

Slater Mill Museum

<div>Pawtucket City Hall, An Art Deco designed building constructed during the Great Depression, is comprised of three distinct segments that serve as the headquarters to both the fire department and police department, as well as a city hall.&nbsp; One can see the segments easily, with the fire department on the north wing, the police department on the southern wing and the city hall located in the main, central wing marked by its 209-foot high central tower capped with an unusual tomahawk weather vane.</div><div><br></div><div>The entire building is of steel-framed, fireproof construction. The inside includes plenty of ornate details, marble features, and Art Deco inspiration. Green, Roman tiles originally covered the entire roof, but now only a portion of those tiles remain on the western section of the building while green shingles cover the remaining, majority of the roof. Exterior walls are composed of cinder blocks and faced with a pale, yellow brick. The exterior is also accented by an abundance of ornate, cast-stone trim and a dozen cast-stone panels, located on the western facade that pays homage to city's history -- many of the city's people, buildings, scenes, and events are carved into the panels.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Built at a cost of $450,000 from 1933-1936 during the Great Depression, the Pawtucket City Hall exists as the first, and one of the largest Rhode Island projects started under the National Recovery Act of 1933 that provided Public Works Administration funds. Not surprising given the economics of the time, the building uniquely tied most of the city government offices into one building along with the fire and police departments.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The hall also serves as a monument to Pawtucket's Mayor Thomas P. McCoy, who served as mayor for twenty years, during which time the hall was proposed, planned, and constructed. Similar to many mayors during the middle part of the twentieth century,&nbsp; McCoy enjoyed a "boss" status known for possessing a stronghold on the city's political machine. During his tenure, he also secured funding from the Federal Government to build a new high school, a municipal stadium, and a new filtration and water plant.</div>

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Pawtucket City Hall is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It was built in 1935 and designed by architect John F. O'Malley in the Art Deco style. The main body of the building is three stories tall and the tower reaches a height of 209 feet. It was the first and one of the largest state projects completed under the National Recovery Act of 1933, which established the public works programs of the New Deal initiative started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The building holds further significance in that it was an early example of city hall where all city functions were located, which was a novel idea at the time. This consolidation of city departments into one building can be attributed to the mayor during the 1930s, Mayor Thomas P. McCoy, who earned the nickname "Boss" for his grip on power which lasted 22 years. Among his achievements was leading the effort to construct the new city hall building. 


 Pawtucket City Hall

<div>The armory&nbsp;has been used for a number of purposes including as a public meeting place, a Social Security sign up location, Girl Scout functions, the circus, St. Patrick's Day festivities, and dances. From 2005-2010, the building was the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The Pawtucket Arts Center opened in 2012 after a few years of extensive renovation.</div>

Now known as the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center, this historic building stands prominently at the corner of Exchange and Fountain Streets. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was built in 1895 and designed by the prominent Providence the architecture firm William R. Walker & Son. Its two circular towers and crenelated parapets give the armory a castle-like appearance, which is appropriate given its military history. The building has been the home of the Tower Light Infantry of Pawtucket, the Kearny Light Infantry, Company G2 Regiment Infantry of Cedar Falls and the Pawtucket Horse Guards First Cavalry Battalion. Today, in its current iteration as the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center, the armory is host to performing arts, events and weddings. 




Pawtucket Armory

Pawtucket did not have its first church building until 1792, one-hundred years after its founding. The previous church at this location was built in 1828 but burned down in 1864.&nbsp;Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church was established in 2012.<br><br>

Situated prominently on a triangle-shaped intersection, Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church, formerly Pawtucket Congregational Church, was built in 1868. It was designed by architect John Stevens and is the finest example of a church designed in the combined Romanesque and Italianate styles still standing in Rhode Island. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is a contributing property to the Quality Hill Historic District, which is also listed on the register.  


Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church

<div>The city derives its name from Native Americans who referred to the area as "Pawtucket" and crossed the shallow portions of the river which also served as a source of fish and fresh water.&nbsp; "Pawtucket" in the native language of the Wampanoag and Narragansett nations means "great falls," referring to the falls for which the historic bridge (built 1858) now crosses and the reason for the town's name. Before construction of the first bridge -- a wooden structure built in 1713, which allowed for easy access across the river, Native Americans and earlier settlers fished and crossed the shallow whitewater above the falls. Today, the bridge serves highway traffic so that to look at the falls and the bridge is to view several centuries of history as well as the frequent societal changes associated with European settlement and modernity.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The current Main Street Bridge was completed in 1858, but bridges were erected in this location as early as 1713. Records indicate settlers constructed wooden bridges in 1735, 1807, 1817, 1832, and 1843 before finally building the current structure made of stone just before the U.S. Civil War; it is believed to now be the oldest major highway bridge still operating in Rhode Island.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>To evolution of the automobile forced engineers to renovate the bridge to accommodate for highway traffic, notably in 1968 when it was widened and modernized. However, the masonry that serves as its foundation remains largely intact from its nineteenth-century construction, a testament to better engineering that developed in that period.&nbsp;</div>

Pawtucket's Main Street Bridge was erected in 1858 and spans the Blackstone River at Pawtucket Falls. Although it is only forty feet wide, this bridge continues to serve as one of the primary river crossings in Pawtucket and is believed to be the oldest operating highway bridge in the state. The Main Street Bridge is also the first masonry bridge to span the river and replaced several wooden structures that date back to the early 1700s. 

Main Street Bridge in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

The sculpture stands atop a grey granite base that features bronze plaques, one of which depicts a Union battery capturing a bridge at the Battle of Antietam. The sculpture is also important for the fact that it was cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, which was a major bronze sculpture manufacturer at the turn of the century. Finally, Lady Liberty is significant as a symbol of Pawtucket's effort to honor the seven local citizens who fought in the war. The Ladies' Soldiers' Memorial Association raised money over 11 years for the monument.&nbsp;

This bronze sculpture and memorial was dedicated in 1897 in honor of citizen soldiers who left their farms and factories to defend the Union in the Civil War. The Pawtucket monument is entitled  "Liberty Arming the Patriot" and was created by English-born American sculptor William G. Hastings (1868-1902), whose works are displayed around the country. The sculpture is significant for a few reasons. While most Civil War monuments depict soldiers, sailors, or officers, this monument is unique in its elaborate depiction of a young farmer being called to serve his nation by a female figure who represents liberty- a reference to the ancient idea of the citizens who defended republics in Greek and Roman times. Rather than depict a soldier standing at parade rest, the young man in this monument takes the sword given to him by Lady Liberty and sets aside his plow. 

History of Pawtucket Rhode Island Tour

Gerald S. Burns Building

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information