Paterson, NJ

Question: How was Paterson

founded?

Short Answer: Because of The Falls

Paterson Falls during the snow.

Paterson has a proud industrial past. Alexander Hamilton founded Paterson in 1791, making the state's third largest city the first planned industrial city in the United States.

Hamilton created the Society of Useful Manufacturers or the SUM. SUM's purpose was for the United States to be less dependent on imports from Great Britain. Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies of Scottish and French parents, was appalled by how the British were treating the early settlers. One instance in which the British were abusing their monopoly on trade on the Americans was their heavy taxes on products they would offer to settlers in the colonies.

Not only did Hamilton help create the first planned manufacturing city in the United States, he also helped write the Constitution and was elected by Washington to be the first Secretary of Treasury. While there, he consolidated our nation’s debt and he advised that our economy should not just depend on agriculture. Hamilton felt this country needed to rely on its own factories, as well.

Fully aware of how the Paterson falls, the second largest waterfalls in North America, could efficiently be the source of energy for mills, he established Paterson as the first planned industrial city in the United States. Hamilton hired Pierre L’Enfant, the French engineer who designed the layout of Washington D.C., to help develop the city of Paterson. The SUM wanted to establish its own mills. However, private mills were created instead.

Paterson quickly became a manufacturing city that thrived due to immigrants contributing to this city by bringing their skills with them. Among them were Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles, and Syrians.

Later, African Americans from the South and emigrants from Puerto Rico would join in and also work in the mills and make Paterson their home. However as industry moved south, many were left without work and soon Paterson's poverty rate went up. This along with the riots in the '60's caused a financially downturn in the city. There was also an exodus of white middle class families.

A Puerto Rican/Dominican mural on Mill Street.

Hardworking immigrants bringing in enterprises... if it weren’t for that, Paterson, NJ would be another Camden, NJ, Detroit or Flint.

Immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Peru, Bangladesh, the Middle East and Mexico (as well as a small but well established Italian community) all bring in a taste of their ethnic communities by bringing in their businesses, as well as their cuisines.

But as we will look at other blogs on Paterson, immigrants have formed their own enclaves, invested in Paterson by opening hundreds if not thousands of small businesses, many which cater to the needs of the ethnic needs of the community, and have achieved success in the new country along with their children.

Libby's Lunch 98 McBride Ave

This is Voola as she prepares milkshakes.

Libby's Lunch is one of the most well known eating establishments in Paterson and brings people from out of town to eat their many great foods, one of being the Texas Weiner!

Paterson created many innovations, including the Colt gun revolver, and the Texas Weiner hot dog. Despite its name, this dog has Jersey roots and you could get the here at Libby's Lunch.

I spoke to a waitress an she recommends the chili sauce, fries, as well as the

rib-eye steak.

The restaurant has gained attention over the years as the restaurant was mentioned on Viceland's "F$%@, that's delicious!" Patrons have been coming here since the grand opening of this restaurant back in the 1930's.

The Hinchcliffe Stadium

The Black Yankees used to play here before professional baseball was integrated.

There are plans to redevelop this area.

E & V Ristorante 320 Chamberlain Avenue

Paterson once had a large Italian population and although many left the city, some of their establishments like E & V Ristorante remain.

If you are visiting the Falls and you want to try Italian food the way your mom made it, look no further than this restaurant!

It’s a nice white tablecloth restaurant with pictures of the Mezzogiorno hanging on the walls.

When I went here, I was amazed at the quality of food I was getting and at a fraction of the price I would get in New York's Little Italy or some traditional landmark Italian restaurants in other parts of the state.

This is one of the best places in the state to get Italian food and the food is so authentic.

I tried the Linguini Pattanesca! This delicious dish which only cost 16 dollars but it was a big plate and had to take it home with me.

Try it with cheese, it tastes ten times better this way!

The Paterson Museum 2 Market Street

On the corner of Spruce and Market Streets lies the Paterson Museum. Formerly the site of Roger Locomotive Works, it is now a museum that is completely devoted to Paterson's industrial past.

Below are pictures of this incredible and interesting museum.

A picture of a locomotive. As mentioned before, the Paterson Museum was once home to Roger Locomotive Works. Roger Locomotive Works was responsible for creating many of the trains used throughout the country. In fact, it is said that every train line in the country had at least one train made by Roger Locomotive Works.

A replica of a textile mill interior.

A painting of silk factory workers. Paterson was once known as "Silk City" because much of the silk was produced here.

This is a picture of Samuel Colt. He created the first Colt gun revolver here in Paterson in the 1800s.

This is the picture of the Holland submarine that was made in Paterson.

Today many of the mills have been refurbished and converted into residential or commercial space. Like the building here below, Cooke Mill.

Cooke Mills apartment complex with stores on floor level.

Phoenix and Essex Mill is a housing for artists and is subsidized. One artist from the Phoenix and Essex Mill, Michael Sherman, had an exhibit earlier this year in Passaic County Community College.

The Garden State Film Festival hosted a documentary on the art scene in the state's third largest city, as well. For more information on either of these stories, please look at the links below in the works cited part of this page.

Restored row houses with mansard roofs. The one on the right is home to the Paterson Music Project, which provides music classes for the youths.

A view of Market from Mill Street, looking westward.

Franklin Mill, whoever rehabilitated this building did a great job!

This one here is a good example of that.

Mills near the Art Factory?

To the bottom is the Great Falls Visitors Center

Downtown Paterson

Alexander Hamilton Complex. This is the tallest building in Downtown Paterson.

Note: the Peruvian consulate is on the 12th floor.

The Passaic County Courthouse.

It was modeled after the Haarlem Market in Holland. Northern New Jersey as well as NY were originally settled by the Dutch, after the Native Americans established themselves here.

This is the "four corners" intersection of Downtown Paterson, where Main and Market, the main streets of Paterson, meet.

Main and Market Street.

A view of Main Street, heading towards south. Note: Garret Mountain in the background.

Market street

An Italian cafe on Church street

Market Street

A view of City Hall from Market Street.

Center City Mall, a mini mall on the corner of Main and Ward Streets.

Below is a picture of the dollar bus. It takes you to New York City, Clifton, and Passsaic, as well as different sections of Paterson.

Dublin

Further east to the Industrial district, lies Dublin. Back in Paterson's industrial heydey, when laborers, mainly immigrants, would work in the factories, they would live in the row-houses and tenements of Dublin. In fact, Dublin is the first neighborhood where immigrant laborers would actually live in.

And as the name suggests, it was an Irish neighborhood. However, as the Irish moved out and Italian immigrants moved in, it quickly became known as "Little Italy." Today, as in many Paterson neighborhoods, Dublin is now predominately Latinx.

The Dublin section is the first immigrant and residential neighborhood of Paterson. And as the name suggests, it was an Irish neighborhood. However, as the Irish moved out and Italian immigrants moved in, it quickly became known as "Little Italy."

The Italian flag fluttering from a flag pole and a statue of Christopher Columbus on Federici Park.

Lou Costello, an Italian American from Paterson and one of America’s most talented comedians. He costarred in the long running TV hit in the 1940s and ‘50s with his comedic partner, Bud Abbott in "Abbott and Costello."

Pantano's Dairy 44 Cianci Street

I really like Pantano's Dairy because it is a grocery store you would find in the "old Italian neighborhood" and you don't really see too much of this anymore.

Walking into this store, makes me feel I traveled back in time to when Paterson had many Italians living here. The owner still speaks to his customers in Italian. The store also offers gragnase linguine, polenta, Italian chocolates, and biscottifcio (a type of biscotti).

All meats and cheese are imported from Italy.

And they are cheap too.In fact, I got a quarter pound of Swiss cheese from this store for $1.25. I liked the cheese because it wasn't as greasy as the cheese you buy in the supermarket. I asked the owner of the store and he said everything in the counter is imported from Italy.

Pantano's Dairy is not afraid to show its Italian pride!

Cianci Street did feel a bit like Europe, which makes sense because once there were so many Italians there.

St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church

This is St Michael's, on 70 Cianci Street just south of Market. This church was built in 1836 and is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

St. Michael’s still offers mass in Italian, as well as in English and Spanish.

Paterson’s new “Little Italy” is not even in Paterson. It is Totowa, the borough, which has the highest concentration of Italians in the Paterson area.

A corner bodega on Mill Street, near Route 19 with the Puerto Rican and Dominican flags in the front mural.

The Paterson Free Public LIbrary in the nearby FOurth Ward of Paterson.

Peru Square

Paterson is unofficially known as the most Peruvian city outside of Peru. Everybody in Lima has heard of Paterson. In fact, many in Peru have Paterson as one of their "to do lists" on their travel list. Paterson has already gained attention for being a very Peruvian city. The Atlantic and Remezcla have already done articles on Paterson being the most northern Peruvian city in the world.

Paterson holds Peruvian dance competitions that attract people from throughout the world and a Peruvian Parade drawing thousands every year.

Peruvians were attracted to Paterson to work in the textile mills in the 1950s.
However as the industry dried up, many Peruvians turned to entrepreneurship. Norberto Curitumai, a Peruvian born businessman who lives with his family in Paterson, created Spanish Transportation, a jitney bus company that makes stops in Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Union City, and New York City. And he is not the only one.

According to the Atlantic, Peruvians own half of the Latino small businesses in Paterson. It is worth mentioning that Dominicans own a significant amount of businesses in the city, as well.

Many consider Peruvian food to be among the best culinary inventions in the world.

And if you are in New Jersey, what better place to try than in Peru Square?

Here you could find pollo a la brasa con papitas fritas (Peruvian rotisserie chicken with french fries) as well as cebiche (Peruvian infused sushi that owes credit to the country’s Japanese immigrants) and arroz chaufa (Chinese Peruvian fried rice) that is better than some restaurants you can find in Peru.

Bakeries here carry sweets like alfajores, lucuma, turron, and paneton, as well as Inca Kola at a discount price.

If you want chifa, Griselda's, on 81 Market Street, offers excellent chaufa.

Jade's Garden,

For cebiche, try Estrellita del Sur, on 16 Clark Street, or, Costa Marina, on 182 Market Street.

Pollos a la brasa. Paterson has many great places to buy pollo a la brasa but I personally like D'Carbon on 47 Cianci Street.

But before we give you a more detailed selection, here are some pictures of the Peruvian Parade in 2017!

A picture of my Peruvian sisters at the Parade.

Peruvian men dressed in traditional garments.

Griselda's

Griselda’s Restaurant probably serves some of the best arroz Chaufa in Paterson (along with Jade Garden in South Paterson) and maybe even the state of New Jersey. Their ceviche is also very good.

La Tia Delia

This is a decent Peruvian restaurant on the intersection of Market and Mill Street, near the historic Industrial District.

Los Inmortales

Los Inmortales sells Sublime and Dona Pepa. You could also find pan de yena, pan frances, lucuma (a type of ice cream that kind of tastes like peanut butter but is actually made out of rare fruit with the same name.)

When you come here you almost feel like you are in Peru. There are pictures of Peruvian soccer teams and soccer jerseys hanging from the ceiling. In the dining room where Peruvians come to eat soup (which are great by the way) and families come to eat breakfast, they can still feel like they are back in Peru. Pictures of Lima, Arequipa, as well a map of El Centro de Lima and another map of Peru are also plastered along the walls.

The shelves offer staples such as Peruvian milk, candies ,and many different types of aji (hot sauce).

Peruvian ice cream, Lucuma is included here as well.

Peruvian Pastries!

El Regional Imports

If you are looking for Argentine products, come to El Regional.

This confectionery sells Argentine imports like te mate, as well as Argentinian soft drinks and chocolates.

Try the cappuccino and the empanadas de chorizo (sausage empanadas). They are excellent.

I took this pic of Buenos Aires, when I was in the bakery. I would love to go one day.

A stand selling Peruvian soccer jerseys, hats, and other paraphernalia during the 2018 World Cup. As I have mentioned before, Peruvians in Paterson are very proud of their heritage.

Aterskm is home to thee speciality ethnic stores that sell products you cannot find in most mainstream stores.

South Dublin

South Dublin used to have a lrage Puert oican population. One of the last vestiges of this population was a very popular restaurant called Lechonera Bayamon. This restaurant, unfortunately, closed in the early 2010s.

South Paterson, NJ

Although in terms of physical appearance, South Paterson is very typical of that of many neighborhoods in Northern Jersey, the neighborhood stands out as being a unique Middle Easterm shopping and dining experience. Visitors from as far as Virginia come here to shop. In fact after Dearborn, South Paterson has the second largest concentration of Arabs in the country.

Paterson's Arab community dates back to the 1930's. Syrians were the first Middle Easterners to arrive in Silk City as far back as the 1930s, to work in the mills. The Turks, Lebanese, and Palestinians later arrived. Palestinians, however, are now the largest Arab group in South Paterson.

Paterson has one of the largest concentration of Turks in the country and have been in Paterson since the '50's.A video of the Turkish Parade, (2015).

South Paterson has been very profitable during recent years. In fact, politicians have considered investing in South Paterson and reconverting this neighborhood into a tourist enclave. In these past five years, a new strip mall was built to accommodate the economic growth of the neighborhood.

Here are some stores and other businesses found in South Paterson.

Nouri Brothers Shopping Center.

Address: 999 Main Street

Nouri Brothers offers you the best of the Middle East. It is like an Arab department store in that it offers jewelry, handicrafts, traditional Islamic garments, books, and audio. They also have a meat and dairy section as well as a bakery.

Not only is the store authentic with a good selection of different products, you could also find some good deals here.

Fattal's Bakery

Address: 975 Main Street

Fattal's Bakery. This is a Syrian bakery was established in 1968. It offers more than just sweets, however. It is smaller in size than Nouri's but you can still find jewelry imported from the Middle East, halal meat, and other food items. Fattal's offers a dairy section where you can find products from Turkey and even Bulgaria.

The supermarket section also sells Arab rock candy, and even high-end cigarettes imported from Switzerland.

The bakery offers amazing treats. I would recommend the pistacchio almond halwa.

However yesterday I decided to get a Harissa, since it looked interesting.

Harissa.

Imagine a sweet corn bread but ten times better. It has a smooth flaky taste to it, like many Middle Eastern pastries.

The restaurants.

Al Basha

Address 1076 Main Street

Al Basha Al Basha is loosely translated into "The King" in the Arabic language. This Lebanese restaurant is one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in the area. I always stop here whenever I go to South Paterson for a full meal and it never disappoints me. With generous portions and affordable prices, anyone will feel like a king (or a queen).

As you enter, there is a beautiful redbrick wall with Arabic horseshoe arches. The dining room is decorated with Middle Eastern paintings.

This restaurant is often packed. Families and friends socialize and speak to each other in Arabic and there was even an older man flaunting a white keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headscarf.

Al Basha draws a diverse crowd and has become a culinary destination in the area.

Before the main course arrives, you get generous portions of pita (they are very good) as well as olives and pickled turnips as appetizers. The pickled turnips taste very good and have a sourish and tangy taste. If you are looking to buy some to eat at home, just go to Nouri's. They have a great collection at a good price as well.

As appetizers, they start you off with olives and pickled turnips.

I would recommend the chicken shish kebab which comes with ample portions of chicken, rice, and vegetables. The chicken or beef shawarma and the lamb shish kebab are also good dishes.

If you are looking for something simple, you could try the falafel. The best falafel in the New York City metropolitan area is found in this restaurant.

Toros Restaurant

Address 1083 Main Street

Toros is possibly the best Turkish restaurant in Paterson, which is saying a lot since Paterson is known for its great and authentic cuisine due to its large Turkish population.

My friend ate a chicken platter with rice on the side and tomatoes and Turkish tea. I ordered the baklava. I am a sweets person so I tried the baklava and it tasted as if they had arrived fresh from heaven!

If you are coming here to this restaurant, please do yourself a favor and try the yogurtli sis!

It is a dish consisting of sauteed butter bread topped with yogurt served over sizzling shish kebabs. I really loved this dish. What I liked about this unique Turkish plate was that it was tasty but not too greasy or fatty. But it is a dish worth trying out whenever you get a chance.

Toros's second location in Clifton. It is diagonally located across from Taskin's Bakery on Hazel Avenue.

For desserts, these are great bakeries to set foot in if you're craving for some sweets.

Taskin Bakery

Address 103 Hazel Street

This is probably one of the best bakeries in all of Paterson, The bakery is definitely worth a visit as it is a lot more pristine than most of the restaurants and eateries in the surrounding area.

I tried Pistachio Kadayif and it was amazing! I also tried their simits, which is like a Turkish bagel.

I tried the shish kebab sandwich it only cost me $20 with a drink and tip. It costs $14 on its own. Cheap.

You could also smoke hookah here.

I tried the chicken shawarma with water for only ten dollars.

Garret Mountain Reservation

If you love nature, there you are in luck.

Paterson offers a 568 acre park which also extends towards Woodland Park if you want to take a hike in the woods.

A picnic area in the park

Views of the Garret Mountain paths

Lambert Castle

Lambert Castle was built by Catholina Lambert. He was an immigrant from England who made his fortune for working hard in the factories of Paterson and owned a castle overlooking Paterson.

The castle is open everyday from 1 to 4 PM, except for Monday and Tuesday, when it's closed.

This grand domicile situated on the Garret Mountain Reservation, is filled with great artwork, including paintings, sculptures, and some relics of Paterson's industrial past.

It is definitely worth a visit on a Sunday afternoon.

A father and daughter as they exit out of Lambert castle.

A view of what was once the dining hall

Views of Paterson from Garret Mountain

Central Paterson (Sandy Hill/The Fourth Ward)

These are areas you generally want to avoid to when you are in Paterson.

The northern and central parts of the city are among the most crime ridden parts of Paterson. These areas are known for its drug trade.

However, there are some interesting places to eat and see, even a historic landmark.

Delicias Dominicanas

This is the best Dominican bakery in Paterson and among the best in NY/NJ area.

They serve amazing pastries and the people who work here are really nice.

La Fe Restaurant

This is quite possibly one of the best, if not the best, Dominican restaurant in Paterson!

I ate a meal consisting of chicken with a rice and a drink for only $7.50. Cheap!

And the food was great!

And last but not least the former home to the church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached.This was once the Community Church of Love (now Bethel A.M.E. Church).

Teddy bear a Dominican flag in Sandy Hill.

#gangsta!

his is home to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Franciscan friars live a life of poverty and dedicate their lives and mission work to help the poor.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to residents in the community here a couple of days before he died,

back in 1968.

Before you leave Paterson, it wouln't be a trip if you don't try gelato at Gelotti Ice Cream on 2 Union Avenue.

The green, black, and red lines commemorate the Fourth Ward's historically large black community

Everyone in New JErsey likes to makes fu nof hr as the "buttof JOkes".

The Stoney Road

If you are a RHONJ fan, you already know one of the most famous girls on the show, Tereesa Guidice.

This is where she used to live at 38 Nagle Streeet, Paterson, NJ

"I'm Teresa, I'm from Paterson!"

Patsy;s Tavern - the best pizza in Paterson, Nj , if not Northern Jersey

Il Barista

To the right, is this young barista, I think her name was Aretousa, but anyways she was really talkative to me (she figured I was lonely, that was sweet of her). Anyways, she opened up to me how it was like growing up in Paterson--- and explained to me how it was (and still is) such a "melting pot." Her son was an Italian who went to JFK High and passed off as Latino because he looked it. It such a shame that more Italians don't live in Paterson. I find Italians to be anti-racist at least the ones from paterson.

San Remo Imports - Italian! Now in Totowa!

San Remo Imports sells merchandise straight from Italy, including chocolates, magazines, and CD’s.

They have the best cappuccinos this state has ever tasted.

According to one google review, the cappuccinos here are as good as the ones in Italy!

St. John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church

119 Carlisie Avenue

There is a large Serbian as well as Albanian population here in Paterson/

In the Union Avenue section of Paterson, there is a large Bangladeshi population here. They even have their own mosque in the downtown section.

Gelotti Ice Cream - 2 Union Avenue.

( near the Totowa Border)

Try the best gelato in all of New Jersey, at Gelotti Ice Cream.

American Labor Museum - 83 Norwood Street in Haledon, NJ

This is where Maria and Pietro Botto lived, a couple who was heavily involved in the 1913 Silk Riots. The Silk Riots was an uprising comprising of laborers who were frustrated with the working conditions of the mills. Paterson’s industrial framework would eventually cause tensions between the factory owners (the bourgeoisie) and the poor laborers. This is signified by the fact that the wealthy elite would live in big domiciles in the eastern section of town while the factory laborers, often poor, would live in overcrowded tenements.

Many anarchists and some socialists were involved in the riots.

Pietro and Maria Botto, however, were a kind and generous couple from Northern Italy who open their doors to their lovely house in suburban Haledon, which had its own yard. They invited many people over, but especially Southern Italians who lived in overcrowded tenements of Paterson

21st Avenue

Caffe Italia

Although now closed, Caffe Italia was once a gem (seems racist?) in the neighborhood. In front of Caffe Italia, I would see old Italian men, some even wearing medallions still speaking to each other in Italian on warm summer days. Inside the coffee house you might see men talking to each other or perhaps even playing cards who are from the neighborhood but probably no longer live here.

Back when I first began visiting Paterson during my spare time in high school, I would get Italian chocolates or gelato here. The cappuccinos and espressos were very good here and so were their gelatos.

It's such a shame they closed. I guess I am going to have to go to San Remo's in Totowa for Italian coffee.

I tried the Mar Mar platter.

The meal was 15 dollars. It consisted of grilled flounder and shrimp with creamy white sauce.

I tried the Mar Mar with their delicious chocolate milk, also known as milo frio. The milk cost five dollars.

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Works Cited..

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/05/peruvians-paterson/483288/

For the artist

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2018/01/23/art-exhibit-paterson-features-works-painter-recovery-michael-sherman-passaic-county-college/1058844001/

For the art scene

http://patersontimes.com/2018/03/15/paterson-documentary-about-local-art-community-picked-for-garden-state-film-festival-screening/