Seekonk (Attleboro, Rehoboth, Wales: motels, homes, neighborhoods)

[Sheina Maydela]

does it have a downtown?

[massnative71]

The short answer is no.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

The short answer is no.

There's not much else to add to that. I GUESS you could argue that 114 at County St. is "downtown" since it has a handful of the type of buildings that would constitute a small village center. Still, it's not active, they're largely vacant, and no one would call it a great downtown.

Seekonk has a large box retail strip along Route 6 (and to a lesser degree, Route 44). It also has some older (1950s-70s) suburban neighborhoods and a few lower density, newer suburban neighborhoods. Small pockets (furthest from the RI border) are fairly rural (farmland).

I guess the best way I could describe Seekonk is "unremarkable." It's certainly not a bad town by any stretch of the imagination. But there's not much to praise it for either.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

There's not much else to add to that. I GUESS you could argue that 114 at County St. is "downtown" since it has a handful of the type of buildings that would constitute a small village center. Still, it's not active, they're largely vacant, and no one would call it a great downtown.

Seekonk has a large box retail strip along Route 6 (and to a lesser degree, Route 44). It also has some older (1950s-70s) suburban neighborhoods and a few lower density, newer suburban neighborhoods. Small pockets (furthest from the RI border) are fairly rural (farmland).

I guess the best way I could describe Seekonk is "unremarkable." It's certainly not a bad town by any stretch of the imagination. But there's not much to praise it for either.

Yes, I would call that just a "cluster of homes with a few small businesses". Certainly it's not a "downtown" like the OP is looking for.

I disagree however that there is not much to praise about the place. I think its biggest asset is its location just minutes from Providence with easy access to highways and all the shopping/eating you will ever need. Yet it's still a quiet, safe place to live. It has pleanty of treasures such as Eats Diner, Johnson and Wales Inn, The Grist Mill, what's the famous antique store name?, and the Speedway. So if you work in Providence, have a family and want to purchase a home; it is one of the first places I would suggest (especially with the state of RI state and local governments and the property taxes). And if you are looking for trendy/walkability, etc. then no it's not the best choice. Based on the OP's previous posts it certainly isn't what he wants.

[lrfox]

^You're right. Maybe I'm being a little unfair. I just meant unremarkable in that it's not particularly attractive (but not "ugly"), schools aren't (but not "terrible")outstanding and overall, there's no single feature that makes me say, "yeah, Seekonk is a GREAT town" (there's also nothing that makes me say, "Seekonk is awful"). I don't think it's a bad town by any stretch. As you mentioned, it IS close to Providence (very close) and it does have some good dining (I really like Chardonnays and 1149 East). From a practical standpoint, it does very well. It just doesn't have too many features that would win my heart over.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

^You're right. Maybe I'm being a little unfair. I just meant unremarkable in that it's not particularly attractive (but not "ugly"), schools aren't (but not "terrible")outstanding and overall, there's no single feature that makes me say, "yeah, Seekonk is a GREAT town" (there's also nothing that makes me say, "Seekonk is awful"). I don't think it's a bad town by any stretch. As you mentioned, it IS close to Providence (very close) and it does have some good dining (I really like Chardonnays and 1149 East). From a practical standpoint, it does very well. It just doesn't have too many features that would win my heart over.

Very well said. But I do have to say that it has some beautiful homes/areas along the Rehoboth border that rivals the "nicest of the nice". I have yet to try Chardonnays, it's next on my list when I'm in that part of the world for dinner.

[Jimrob1]

When I lived in Mass Seekonk was a place to go to stores, movies and a restaurant or two. There are also some motels there. It straddles the RI and Attleboro line. There didn't seem to be an actual town center, certainly not like the majority of New England communities. Which always struck me strange as town center and New England towns seem to go together.

Seekonk certainly isn't a bad town by no means, its just seems different that many of them. Not alot of definition to the town. I would call it a bedroom suburban community of Greater Providence and SE Mass. Sort of reminds me of what I see here on the West Coast. A suburban community that is part of the sprawl of a larger Metro, and lacks a defining point to it. I don't understand the lack of a real town center in Seekonk.

So Seekonk is a nice town with some shopping and dining options as well as a night at a movie. The town could also provide some less expensive housing options, than many communities in Eastern Mass.

[logloglog]

Seekonk had a town center (The center of Rumford, RI) until the Supreme Court decision in the 1800s that settled the RI-MA border dispute cut off the western half of Seekonk and gave it to RI as East Providence.

History of Massachusetts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia