Paterson (population 146,199) is a city in New Jersey. It is situated between the Appalachian foothills and the Coastal Plain in the Piedmont area. The city of Paterson serves as the county seat of Passaic County. It is the third biggest city in the state and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. New York City is 48 km towards the east. The population of the city has decreased by 2 percent ever since the year 2000. The city of Paterson was a planned community, called "Silk City" due to the significance of silk production there during the late 19th century.
The city of Paterson started sometime during the year 1792, through the work of a group of investors referred to as the Society of Useful Manufactures (or SUM). This group was focused on raising enough money in order to develop a planned industrial city which would be able to help the country produce American products and reduce the country's dependence on foreign goods. Paterson was to be planned around a waterfall, referred to as the Great Falls of the Passaic, that will provide power to new industries to be built around it. The city of Paterson was soon a reality, with numerous textile mills and various buildings springing up. It wasn't long before other industries, like firearms, railroad locomotive manufacturing and silk production, followed suit. Paterson became incorporated as a city during 1851, and silk production eventually became the primary industry. Paterson enjoyed a prosperous industrial time, being called "Silk City". After a destructive fire in the year 1902, Paterson's downtown needed to be rebuilt.
The city of Paterson has a unique attraction, an 1893 historic building referred to as Lambert Castle. The Medieval Revival-style castle was the home of famous silk mill owner Catholina Lambert. The Castle was turned into a Museum following a multi-million dollar restoration in the latter part of the 1990s.
The city of Paterson is really ethnically diverse, and the yearly calendar is full of opportunities to celebrate. The whole summer, parades take place on the streets of the city, among them, an African-American Day Parade, a Dominican Day Parade, a Puerto Rican Day Parade and a Turkish-American Day Parade. The Peruvian community of Paterson has a Peruvian Day Parade and 10-day festival during October known as "El Señor de los Milagros" ("Our Lord of Miracles").
Paterson's downtown core features various architectural landmarks with a lot of Beaux-Arts-style buildings. These buildings are normally quite huge, but are often no more than seven stories high. The commercial district of Paterson was once frequented by shoppers from all around northern New Jersey. Two of Paterson's architectural landmarks are the Paterson City Hall and the Passaic County Courthouse Annex.