Saturday, February 21, 2015

Great Falls on Ice

The Great Falls of Paterson, New Jersey have been a national park for only a short time, but their power and size has been a draw since before the Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton saw the promise of the falls, and it became a generator for business making Paterson an industrial hub for decades to come.

Paterson may have fallen on hard times, but the Falls endure. The Falls are now part of a National Historical Park, and I can only hope that people get to experience the falls up close to enjoy the wonder and the important role they played in our nation's development. There's also a move to include the nearby Hinchliffe Stadium into the national park for its role as host to Negro Leagues games. It is one of the few remaining stadiums from that era to still exist.

The Great Falls iced over. The building on the left is a hydropower turbine room, which still produces power today.
The snow was beginning to fall as we were out taking pictures.
A closeup of the falls from the bridge seen in the photo above.
Looking across the national park.
Iced over.
You can't tell from the photos, but you could see the water flowing in behind the ice.

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