Downtown Paterson

Images of America: New Jersey

by June Avignone

It was a corporate experiment--an experiment that would later be known as Paterson, New Jersey. Home of the Great Falls, Paterson holds the distinction of being the first planned industrial center of the United States. The land of the Lenape and a few Dutch settlers would be forever changed when politicians and wealthy investors founded Paterson as a corporation, as opposed to chartering it as a city, in 1792. At a crucial turning point in our young, agrarian-based nation, the struggles and triumphs of individuals from diverse ethnic groups would be set into historic motion. Over 100 photographs of Paterson's rich past and complicated present have been woven together with text from noted historians and poets, focusing on the downtown historic area. Downtown Paterson takes us on a journey from the beginnings of the proverbial Silk
City through its radical labor past and days of pre-mall grandeur with a thriving Main Street abundant with elegant stores, vaudeville houses, and movie theaters. This volume ends with a probing look at the city's present-day people and places.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1999

Reviews

[Talea]

The pictures are amazing, and I learned a basic history of Paterson NJ from the falls that the Lenape Indians enjoyed before European settlers arrived to urban blight in the 90's. Paterson has seen the good, silk industry prosperity and a great working conditions and the bad, union strikes and decline. It really is like looking into so many American cities these days where once beautiful buildings are crumbling or have been destroyed to make parking lots. I can't help thinking that America really is a consumer society, so much so we readily consume that which set us apart, that which is beautiful for what is quick and what is easy. It is sad to see really.

[Rich]

I highly recommend the Images of America books. This one has great old photos of Paterson.