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City in Passaic County, New Jersey, US
Photo: Steven Charles Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Paterson is New Jersey's third largest city (about 155,000 inhabitants as of 2022), and hosts a great attraction: the Great Falls, which are very extensive and second only to Niagara Falls in terms of volume of water in waterfalls east of the Mississippi. Paterson is 12 miles away from Manhattan. It is an ethnically diverse city that houses large Hispanic, Arab, Italian-American, African American and Bengali communities. South Paterson is home to one of the nation's largest Arab communities.
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The tallest waterfall in New Jersey and the second largest by volume east of the Mississippi River (behind Niagara Falls). These falls were what helped Paterson grow as the first planned industrial city in the U.S. The falls provided power for the city at one time. The Great Falls today are part of a state park, but the feel is of a municipal park, with people of all hues enjoying the views, picnicking in good weather, and vendors selling items like good Latino ices. You can easily walk a half mile or more within the park, and it's worth doing so to see views of different parts of the falls and experience their immensity. Beware that parking can be scarce, so if you plan to arrive by car, allow extra time.
This was the home of a prominent silk merchant, and it was built as a fanciful castle in 1892. It is now a museum of history and library, and also includes a tower from which you can see panoramic views. However, the building and its grounds are closed for renovation as of September, 2023.
Botto House
By train
The Main Line run by NJ Transit has a stop in Paterson.
By bus and jitney
There are jitneys (a type of van) that run along Route 4 from the Port Authority George Washington Bridge terminal in Upper Manhattan, and there are also New Jersey Transit buses from the main Port…
Paterson is a small city in area: it is only 8 square miles, but it has more than 150,000 residents. There are many bus lines that come frequently enough that you can travel from the city without a car.
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