Located along the eastern shore of Mount Hope Bay at the mouth of the Taunton River, the City became famous during the 19th century as the leading textile manufacturing center in the United States. While the texile industry has long since moved on (first to the South, and now overseas), its impact on the City's culture and landscape remains to this day.
Fall River's motto is "We'll Try." It is nicknamed "The Scholarship City", which is seen on the welcome signs upon entering the city. Fall River is well-known for Lizzie Borden, who was accused, and later acquitted of the 1892 double axe-murder that occurred at her home on Second Street in the city. Fall River is also known for Battleship Cove, the world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels. It is also the only city in the United States to have its government center located over an interstate highway.
According to the United States Census of 2000, the population of Fall River is 91,938. The largest racial groups within the city were 91.2% (83,815) White, 2.5% (2,283) African American, 2.2% (1,987) Asian and 0.2% (172) Native American. 47% (43,253) of the population described themselves as being of Portuguese ancestry. The next largest groups by ancestry are French 13.4% (12,343), Irish 9.8% (9,029), English 6.6% (6,085), French Canadian 5.9% (5,458), Italian 3.6% (3,293) and Polish 3.4% (3,148).
Fall River and surrounding communities form a part of the Providence metropolitan area, which has an estimated population of 1,622,520.
In percentage terms Fall River has the largest Portuguese American population in the United States. However, the exact percentage of the population they make up is disputed. A 2005 study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has given it at 49.6% while other sources give it as 43.9%.
The city has 38,759 households and 23,558 families. The population density was 2,963.7 per square mile (1,144.3/km²). There were 41,857 housing units at an average density of 1,349.3/sq mi (521.0/km²). Of the 38,759 households 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.00.
In terms of age the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.
The median household income was $29,014, and the median family income was $37,671. Males had a median income of $31,330 versus $22,883 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,118. About 14.0% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.
Fall River has always been considered a transportation hub for the South Coast and Mount Hope Bay areas, due to its location along the Taunton River. In addition to the Fall River Line (discussed in the "History" section), Slade's Ferry ran from Fall River to Somerset since the 1600s, connecting the two communities. In 1875, Slade's Ferry Bridge was opened, connecting the two cities for trolley lines as well as cart (and later, car) traffic. It was a two-tiered steel swing span bridge, extending over 1,100 feet (340 m) from Remington Avenue to the intersection of Wilbur Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Brayton Avenue in Somerset. This bridge was in use until 1970, when it was closed and subsequently demolished. (The path of the bridge is now roughly marked by twin sets of power lines crossing the river.) In 1903, the state authorized a second bridge, the Brightman Street Bridge, a four lane, 922-foot (281 m) long drawbridge ending at its namesake street, which opened in 1908 and is still standing today. The third bridge to span the river in Fall River was the Charles M. Braga, Jr. Memorial Bridge. Started in 1959 and opened in the spring of 1966, the six-lane cantilever truss highway bridge spans 1.2 miles (1.9 km) and was part of the project to build Interstate 195.
In the late 1980s, problems were beginning to arise with the Brightman Street Bridge. Currently 100 years old, it is often closed for repairs, which puts much strain on local traffic, forced to take long detours across the nearby Braga Bridge. In 1983 plans were being made to build a new bridge 1,500 feet (460 m) north of the current one, which would directly link with Route 138. Plans were put on hold in 1989 due to Coast Guard concerns, but construction of the new span began in the late 1990s and continues today despite numerous delays and controversy. A new avenue to link the bridge and Route 6 in Somerset has already begun construction a few yards inland. As of yet, no name for the bridge has been decided upon.
Interstate 195 is now the main point of entry for the city, entering via the Braga Bridge from Somerset and leaving over "The Narrows," a small strip of land between the North and South Watuppa Ponds that carries Interstate 195, Route 6 and Old Bedford Road into Fall River from Westport as the roads make their way east towards New Bedford and Cape Cod. The highway covers much of the old path parallel to the Bay Colony/New Bedford Cape Cod Railroad as well the original path of the Quequechan River, and has resulted in a unique situation—it is one of the few highways in the country with a city hall (officially known as "Fall River Government Center") standing directly on top of it. The tunnel which passes below Government Center was the site of an accident in March 1999, in which a cement ceiling tile, its supports worn away by corrosion, collapsed, landed on several cars but not causing more than minor injuries. The incident caused major traffic problems in the area, and bears a striking resemblance to the incident involving the I-90 tunnel collapse (a part of the Big Dig) in 2006.
In addition to Interstate 195, Fall River is also served by four other major routes, which include Route 6 (which passes over the Brightman Street Bridge going west before joining the city grid then continuing east into Westport); Route 24, a 2 Lane North/South divided highway linking Fall River to Boston and Newport; Route 79, another divided highway that begins at the Braga Bridge and continues northbound to Route 24; Route 138, which also enters the city via the Brightman Street Bridge before joining the city grid, passing southwards towards Aquidneck Island; and Route 81, which begins near the former site of the Quequechan River and travels south into Tiverton. Additionally, Route 177 clips the extreme southern part of the city for less than 0.25-mile (0.40 km) between Westport and Tiverton. Route 138, Route 24, I-195, and US 6 are based upon old Indian routes and trails.
The Fall River State Pier is still in operation, bringing goods into the city via boat and also by a freight train line which travels north from the pier parallel to Route 79. Plans are in the works to add commuter service along the current Stoughton Line of the MBTA's commuter rail line, which would also connect New Bedford.
The city, along with New Bedford, shares ownership of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA), a bus line which covers much of the south coast.
Until approximately 1990, the Fall River Municipal Airport served as a general aviation airport for small planes and commuter flights to the Cape and Islands just north of the junction of Routes 79 and 24, but the airport has since closed, the land claimed for an industrial park.