Paterson is such a fascinating city because of where it is located. It's a crowded industrial city surrounded by sprawling suburbs on the edge of a big metropolitan area. The first time I went to Paterson and was big enough to see out the car window, I was surprised. As you approach the city on the highway (not sure which route) you see very low-rise, spread out suburbs and trees along much of the highway (there are, or were, some farms nearby). Then as you get close to the city along this stretch of highway, you see largely undeveloped mountains. Then the highway goes through a valley alongside a mountain that has been partially excavated to fit the highway. Then on the other side of that mountain you see this huge, crowded city in the Passaic Valley that looks like it came out of the middle of nowhere!
And all of a sudden it's like you are in Newark or Brooklyn or South Philadelphia!
It is very unusual the first time. Even though you hear about Paterson a lot if you live in North Jersey, it's still a surprise when you first see it there.
In the Philadelphia area, however, it is very normal to find such small factory cities and towns 20, 40, or even 50 miles from Philadelphia proper. I think that's because the Philadelphia area economy was so tied to the railroads that went in every direction from the city.
Anyway, thanks for sharing pictures from Paterson. It brought back many memories. (Also, one of those old mills that dot the landscape is, or was, the headquarters for Marcal Paper and is quite a landmark on the skyline when you pass through on the highway).
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