All Hail Paterson (and other overlooked mid-size cities)

Paterson?  Yeah Paterson, the City 13 miles to the west of NYC.  Birthplace of American industry, the “Silk City” founded by Alexander Hamilton and designed by Washington DC’s master planner Pierre Charles L’Enfant.  Besides textiles, Paterson was home to the first repeating revolver, first submarine and the Rogers Locomotive Works that, at one time, manufactured 80% of the Country’s locomotives.  Paterson is also home to the second largest waterfall in the northern hemisphere (Niagra Falls taking top honors of course) and a collection of foreign born residents so lar

3 minute read

February 2, 2009, 9:14 AM PST

By Scott Page


Paterson?  Yeah Paterson, the City 13 miles to the west of NYC.  Birthplace of American industry, the "Silk City" founded by Alexander Hamilton and designed by Washington DC's master planner Pierre Charles L'Enfant.  Besides textiles, Paterson was home to the first repeating revolver, first submarine and the Rogers Locomotive Works that, at one time, manufactured 80% of the Country's locomotives.  Paterson is also home to the second largest waterfall in the northern hemisphere (Niagra Falls taking top honors of course) and a collection of foreign born residents so large that the Peruvian Consulate is located downtown.  It's a unique, chaotic, historic and largely unknown and undiscovered City. 

But not for long.  After a long campaign, the Great Falls was finally designated National Park status in the past month.  The Great Falls had already been designated a "natural landmark" in the late 1960s and a "national historic landmark" in 1976.  So what's in a name?  Money it seems.  The designation in 1976 brought some much needed dollars to restore the "the system of "raceways" that were designed to channel water to local mills.  The promise of National Park status is that a lot more financial support will flow to Paterson and help restore and rebuild.  

For those most familiar with the City and the mills that surround the Great Falls, this is long overdue and a potential shot in the arm to generate some much needed attention.  There are extraordinary assets in this small City but also monumental challenges.  Take Hinchliffe Stadium (see below).  Built in the 1930s, the 10,000 sq. ft. stadium was an important home to the Negro Baseball Leagues, car racing, professional football and boxing.  It now sits as an unused but astounding landmark overlooking the Falls. 

 

This rich history has engendered an almost ruthless devotion to the City from its residents, even if they moved away.  It's perhaps best summarized in this quote from the book About Paterson: The Making and Unmaking of an American City by Christopher Norwood - "There are two elements that dominate the city's character: a pride so enormous that it sometimes verges on hysteria and a deep-seated mistrust that makes cooperation out of the question."

After spending some time there, that might be overstating it a bit.  After all, it was cooperation that brought about this National Park status, revived many formerly vacant mill buildings and created new schools that have altered the face of the neighborhood surrounding the Falls.  Here's hoping for a new era of success. 

While an urban national park might not be in the cards for everyone, all small and mid-size cities have interesting stories to tell but are all too often overshadowed by the problems.  I think of these as hidden narratives.  Peregrine Arts in Philadelphia has taken this problem as a source of inspiration and organized a four-week event called the "Hidden City."  In essence the event is a call to "rediscover" where you live.  Seems small and mid-size cities could benefit enormously by this type of local story-telling.  It might not result in a large grant, but it would certainly help reinforce local pride and awareness about each community's unique moments.  


Scott Page

Scott Page is an urban designer and planner with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgia Tech. His experience in neighborhood design, city-wide housing strategies, waterfront planning, downtown revitalization and economic development has resulted in innovative and achievable strategies for a diversity of public, non-profit and private clients. Scott's design process merges creative grass-roots planning with a focus on sustainable development and design.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

"Altadena - Not For Sale" yard sign in front of burned down house after Eaton Fire in Altadena, California in January 2025.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations

Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

July 7 - Dwell

Dense multistory residential buildings in hilly San Francisco, California.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean

Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

July 7 - The San Francisco Standard

Blue self-driving Ford Transit van shuttle in Jacksonville, Florida.

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US

A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.

July 7 - Smart Cities Dive

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

Write for Planetizen