PC's Adventures in Pictures

[PC-Rider]

Looking back from Alexander Hamilton away from the falls.



Directly behind the information sign was this bell.



You can see the information sign on the right and the feet of Alexander Hamilton over the head of a fellow rider on this trip named jimmr.



The only thing I noted on the bell was the date 1871.
This plaque was below it.



Behind the bell was the S.U.M. Building Offices building !



That is the back.

With that nice old lettering on the door.



Which stands for: the Society for Establishing Usefull Manufacturers.
I guess SEUM was not as good an acronym !


I walked around to the front to see what else I could see.

Here is the official name of this park area and the front of the S.U.M. Building Offices.



There are several other memorials around.
Mostly for Mayors or people who were helpful in preserving this site.







Across the street was what looked like a canal but turns out to be a Raceway.
I don't know how they could get cars down there for a race !


No, that was used to bring water to other manufacturers in Paterson and also looks like it was used to fill a reservoir not far from here.



There was also a rose garden in front of the S.U.M Building.



Which needs a little TLC.



And across the street to the left of the raceway was the Great Falls Historic District Cultural Center.



And a nice view from up here.

[PC-Rider]

Walking along the front of the S.U.M. Building I see this on the ground.



I don't know !
I thought it looked interesting !
Plus I was on my own kind of ArtWalk in Paterson !

Down a little further I see this nice old wooden water tower and some other old
wooden structures on what looked like the roof of this building.



I thought they looked pretty neat and interesting.
Almost Planet of the Apes like ! ! !



Headed back to the parking lot I see this nice rock outcrop.





Hey, how many of those do you get to see in Southern New Jersey ?



And another memorial.





I think his eyes have been altered.
Or at least I hope they did not make it that way !



And some riff raff hanging around.





And there is Alexander Hamilton in the back.

[PC-Rider]

Highly influential in harnessing the power of these nice falls.
And also not destroying their natural beauty.







As viewed from the front of the S.U.M. Building.



We will be seeing and hearing more about Alexander Hamilton later.

A little information about Alexander Hamilton's influence in this area.

A more in depth history and some pictures and drawings of the powerhouse and it's workings.

And before I leave I have to get the "official" Tag shot angle.

[PC-Rider]

Our next stop was only .2 miles away.



Maybe this will make it better.



I did get a picture of my bike here before I left.



Yes, Lou Costello was from Paterson, NJ.









Hard to believe he died at 53 years of age.

For a man who made so many people laugh he actually lead a pretty tragic filled personal life.
So sad to read about that part of his life.

And I can not believe they waited 33 years before erecting a memorial to him.
He was very devoted to his home town.
It is said that he mentioned Paterson in every movie he made.
That is fondness and dedication.





Lou Costello from Wikipedia

Here is his and Abbott's famous "Who's on First"

And the "Official Abbott & Costello Website"

And a list of other Famous people from Paterson, NJ




----------

420 Lou Costello Memorial

Lou Costello Memorial Park @12

[PC-Rider]

When I looked across the street from the Lou Costello Memorial to see where I could get a full picture I saw gold !



I knew it could not be real gold, or it probably would not be there any longer !
Turned out to be a fountain.



And in the back ground I see a statue.
So, of course, I had to go check it out.



Look, another Christopher Columbus statue !



This little park is named after the sculptor of this fine piece of art.











This statue was originally placed in Eastside Park on Collumbus Day 1953.

Here is some history and pictures of Gaetano Federici by Passaic County Community College who made a full size plaster replica of this statue.



So a person who lives in Paterson, NJ is known as a Patersonian !

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Christopher Columbus Statue, Paterson, NJ @12

[PC-Rider]

Some sites from our ride through Paterson.

But first, some history.

"Paterson was named for William Paterson, statesman, signer of the U.S. Constitution and Governor of
New Jersey (October 1790 to March 1793) who signed the 1792 charter that established the Town of Paterson."

"The City of Paterson, located on the Passaic River in New Jersey was once one of the mightiest
industrial cities of the United States. It has a rich history as the Nation's first planned industrial
city, as well as containing some of the country's oldest textile mills and businesses. "
"The industries developed in Paterson were powered by the 77-foot high Great Falls of the Passaic,
and a system of water raceways that harnessed the power of the falls. The district originally included
dozens of mill buildings and other manufacturing structures associated with the textile industry and
later, the firearms, silk, and railroad locomotive manufacturing industries. In the latter half of the 1800's,
silk production became the dominant industry and formed the basis of Paterson's most prosperous period,
earning it the nickname "Silk City." Paterson was also the site of historic labor unrest that focused on
anti-child labor legislation, safety in the workplace, a minimum wage, and reasonable working hours."

This guy was reading a newspaper at 7AM next to Lou Costello and never even turned around to look at us !



There were a couple of other people behind the statue too but we got same thing from them.

So this is what Patersonians see everyday !



Well, maybe not that fella, but the buildings at least !

That is our fearless leader taking us through Paterson because he was familiar with this area.

Except for the "No Left Turn" signs !
He must have forgotten about that one ! ! !



Some beautiful old architecture.



We were sitting at a light and I tried to read the name in red lettering on the window.

It did not make sense to me !



UCE
ENGDA
INSTILISH
TUTE



Then I realized there was an air conditioner in the left side window !



A completely stone steeple !



So to that we said good bye to Paterson, NJ

[PC-Rider]

Our next stop was the Pratt Low-Truss Swing Bridge.



This was the first angle I saw of it.
And the blue & yellow sign caught my eye.



I don't know about you, but I don't think I would like someone marking my hightailing it in reverse !!

But it is a part of history.
And if he hadn't of retreated the ending would be a lot different.
And just to put this in perspective, just over a month later we gained the victory at the Battle of Trenton.

(It made me wonder if anyone will ever put up "PC was here" signs ? )



This is not the original bridge from 1776.
This one replaced that one in 1889.

As I am crossing the bridge I see one of our riders climbing over the railing ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!



I said, "What are you doing?"

He says, "Looking at the gears, that's what we are here for right?"

I could not argue with that.
He was totally correct.
Plus he is a big boy and can take care of himself !
I just said, "Do you know how to swim ?"

OH, and, "Get some pictures while you are down there!"



As I walk a little further I hear a big SPLASH behind me ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I turn around and see white foam and ripples in the swift current.
OH NO !
HE FELL IN ! ! ! ! !! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I don't see him.
And no one else seems concerned.

Turns out he pulled a big limb out and threw it in the water !



Well, he is OK so let me get some more pictures !

Here are the pictures he took while hanging over the side !







Here is my lame picture of the gears.



I walked around the park on the other side to get pictures of some old buildings and info signs.
I will post those separately.

I took these on my way back to my bike.

That is the current bridge over the Hackensack River.



Looking down river the other direction.



My wife waiting for me !



A sidewalk to nowhere !



Old retaining wall.'



Not sure how much retaining is left in it !

They call this "The Bridge That Saved A Nation".

It was the first bridge north of Newark, NJ over the Hackensack River.
In order to get to the interior of New Jersey and lower New York State you had to cross this river, and it is pretty much like this for quite a distance.

I will add more history later.
I have a wedding to go to right now !

................................................

EDIT:
I have noticed that some of my previous links are defunked.
So to keep the history lesson going and not loose any information I decided to copy the important stuff and post it and give the link as well.

"According to historian Kevin Wright, the extant iron swing bridge at New
Bridge Landing occupies the site of a series of wooden drawbridges that
have spanned the narrows of the Hackensack River at New Bridge since
1745. Until 1790, this was the first river crossing above Newark Bay and so
carried overland traffic between Manhattan and the interior of North
America. The bridge became vitally important during the American
Revolution and was crossed by General George Washington at the head of
the retreating garrison of Fort Lee on November 20, 1776, earning its
appellation as the Bridge That Saved A Nation. Hills on either side of New
Bridge were fortified during the war to defend this strategic crossing and
stone houses flanking the bridge served as forts, battleground,
encampment ground and military headquarters in every year of the conflict.
New Bridge was literally, "the crossroads of the American Revolution,"
having supposedly survived more of the war than any other spot in
America. Bergen County installed the extant iron swing bridge in 1889 as
part of the ongoing replacement of outdated wooden drawbridges, which
slowed the passage of ship traffic on the river. A drawbridge only opened
one lane of traffic, while a swing bridge opened two, allowing boats to pass
simultaneously in both directions."

Wikipedia

----------

444 Swing Bridge

Pratt Low-Truss Swing Bridge @12

[PC-Rider]

Coming off the bridge on the other side of the Hackensack River was this nice old long house.



I had seen aerial pictures of this park when I was laying out my route so I knew there was more here than just the bridge.
But I was not totally sure what these things were.





I had been looking for this plaque while I was here.
The person who Tagged this had included it but did not say where it was.



But I found it !
On the end of this building.

I had originally thought it was a picture of the gears for the bridge, but it turns out it is a water wheel.



Pretty creative huh?

This house also goes under the name of the Steuben House.
As is mentioned on the plaque above.
Here is more info from Wikipedia.

"The Steuben House is a noted example of Bergen Dutch sandstone architecture..."
"The Steuben House has long been esteemed a Revolutionary landmark. Its
architecture and historic furnishings recall the Bergen Dutch, an agricultural
community whose language and culture blended contributions from Dutch,
Angolan African, German, English, French, Scotch and Scandinavian
settlers.At a place known originally as Aschatking (where the river
narrows), about ten miles (16 km) above the head of Newark Bay, a
Swedish land-clearer named Cornelius Mattyse acquired 420 acres
(1.7 km²) at the juncture of Tantaqua's Creek (Cole's Brook) and the
Hackensack River, in 1682."
"... A tidal gristmill was built on the Hackensack River. This mill got its power
from an artificial pond: the high tide was trapped in the mouth of Cole's
Brook by a dam with a special drop-gate, suspended from a horizontal
timber. When the tides flowed out of the Hackensack River, the tidal
millpond was slowly released through the waterwheel. Sloops pulled
alongside the mill at New Bridge Landing. On March 9, 1744, a road was
surveyed from Kinderkamack Road to the chosen spot on the banks of the
Hackensack River where a "New Bridge" was to be erected (forming was is
now Main Street, River Edge)."
"Jan and Annetje (Ackerman) Zabriskie purchased the Johannes Ackerman
mill and farm in September 1745, shortly after construction of the first
draw-bridge at the narrows of the Hackensack River. This wooden span was
called New Bridge to distinguish it from an older crossing several miles
upstream. In 1752, Jan Zabriskie built the oldest part of the Steuben
House."
"The house was occupied as a military headquarters during much of the American Revolutionary War. General Washington headquartered here in
September 1780 when the Continental Army encamped on the Kinderkamack
Ridge."
"The State of New Jersey confiscated the stone mansion from Jan
Zabriskie, a Loyalist, in 1781. The New Jersey Legislature gave the Zabriskie
estate at New Bridge to Major General Baron von Steuben, the Inspector
General of the Continental Army, on December 23, 1783."

Some great information about this house and the history that wound up surrounding it.
Along with some great old pictures.





----------

Zabriskie / Steuben House @12

[PC-Rider]

The next house along the road was this nice little stone house.





Moved here in 1955.







According to the Bergen County Historical Society they are not really sure who's house this was !

But nice none the less.
That link has some nice old pictures of this place at it's original location.

I found the mile marker out front interesting because we would be in Hoboken later that day.



But we were taking the long way !



----------

1151 Demarest House

Demarest House @12

[PC-Rider]

I did miss one house here, the Campbell-Christie House.
But OH well !

Here are some more pictures from the park.
(Click on the picture for a link to Historical Marker Database for a clear reading of that sign.)





The sign below is not in their database.













And the group waiting patiently for me on the other side !

[PC-Rider]

As we traveled East heading for the Hudson River I see this old train station that looked familiar.



My wife was able to grab a picture of it.

It had been used as a Tag also.
#174 Cafe Angelique, or the old Tenafly Train Station.

We rode through some really upscale neighborhoods ! ! !



Something I did not expect.





Especially when our destination was the Devil's Tower !



Of course the locals do not call it that.



The safest story is:
"The tower was originally built by sugar baron Manuel Rionda (1854–1943) in
order to allow his wife to see New York from the New Jersey side of the
Hudson River."

The more interesting version gives it the name Devil's Tower:
"The legend has it that when his wife saw him with another woman, she
committed suicide by jumping off the tower. After becoming upset over his
wife's death, Rionda stopped all work on the tower. In reality Harriet
Rionda died of natural causes in 1922 and was interred nearby for
approximately 20 years; her coffin was moved to Brookside Cemetery, Englewood.
The estate was later sub-divided into 197 housing sites
consisting of miles of roadway, infrastructure, and related facilities in the
mid 1980s"



From Wikipedia under "Points of Interest".

Here is the clock.







Our resident climber was shimmying up one of these nooks !
I should have snapped a picture ! ! !



There was an access panel in the ceiling of the center section.



I have no idea how else you could get up into the tower.
There were no doorways in this middle section.
I am pretty sure there was a doorway somewhere and they may have been on the ends.
I can not remember now.

But there is no climbing it now.



You can see the cameras above the central opening on both sides of the tower.

I walked to the back and took some more pictures.





On a road called The Esplanada.
I had to look that up !
"The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside
fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns. In
modern usage the space allows people to walk for recreational purposes..."

What a contrast.
Clear fields of fire or a recreational walkway !
Take your pick ! ! !





This stone building was part of the original estate and may have been where Harriet Rionda was buried.



When we got there there was a goose sitting on the top left corner of the tower.
I had never seen a goose land on a building before !

A couple of more came and left quickly.



The goose was there the whole time.
Adding to the mystery of Devil's Tower !



Looking the way we were going out on the Esplanade.





We stopped and took a picture on our way out.



The fella that tried to hang himself on our first ride at the Devil's Tree was with us in spirit on this trip as well !








Now for the weird.
WeirdNJ of course.

Some say it is haunted.

----------

121 Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower / Alpine Stone Clock Tower @12

[PC-Rider]

So we finally get to the Hudson River.

And look over the edge !



Yes, we are in New Jersey.

This is called State Line Lookout.

The main overlook.





Looking South at the smaller overlook.



And the sheer cliffs.



With no people hanging off of them !



You can not see Manhattan from this particular spot.
Directly across the river is Hastings-On-Hudson, NY.
The area looking South across the river is Yonkers, NY.

They actually had a rock slide here between these two overlooks one week after we were here ! ! !

Looking North the boarder between New Jersey and New York is only a couple of miles from here across the river and also connected by land.



This is the Tappan Zee Bridge which carries Interstate 87 / 287 / New York State Thruway over the Hudson River.
It pretty much takes you up into New England.
Which for some reason I always thought was a State, but is an area consisting of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Why didn't they just say that instead of confusing me ?





If you need to get into New England and want to avoid Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn that is the route you take.



They have a nice concession stand here which they call Lookout Inn.





This is the old road along the Palisades.
Looking North.



Looking South.



Of course I had to get my official Tag Shot angle before I left.
Even if I did have to go through a handicap access in the stone wall.





State Line Lookout is part of the Palisades Interstate Park and is the highest point along the Palisades at 532 feet.



"The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson
Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson
River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United
States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi
(32 km) to near Nyack, New York. They rise nearly vertically from near the
edge of the river, approximately 300 feet at Weehawken and increasing
gradually in height to 540 feet near their northern terminus.^[1] From Fort
Lee north the Palisades are part of Palisades Interstate Park and are a
National Natural Landmark."

I had wondered where the word Palisade came from:
"Palisade is derived from the same root as word pale, ultimately from the
Latin word palus, meaning stake. The Lenape called the cliffs "rocks that
look like rows of trees" in a phrase that has become Weehawken, and is the
name of the town which sits at the top of the cliffs across from
Manhattan."
"The Palisades appear on the first European map of the New World, made by
Gerardus Mercator in 1541 based on the description given him by Giovanni
da Verrazano,^[3] who suggested they look like a "fence of stakes"."

From Wikipedia.

The map is a little distorted here.
I guess because of the cliffs.
I put the marker where I took the picture of my bike.

----------

294 State Line Lookout

State Line Lookout @12

[PC-Rider]

So we were as far North and East as you can go in New Jersey and now we head South along the Hudson River.



As you can see from State Line Lookout there is no road in NJ that runs right along the river.
This is the next road in.
Route 9.

Actually the Palisades Interstate Parkway is the first, but we were making too many turns to take that.
We crisscross that getting to our stops.
It was on our left as we were riding right next to it.

On the way over to our next stop we pass the Palisades Interstate Park Headquarters.



Out next stop was down by the river.

So down we go.
And down.
And down !



As we go down there are police blocking some of the roads.
There was apparently some kind of run or walk thing going on.
At our next destination they were setting up a tent for a band that would be there later in the day.

But we go where we can.

At the bottom we go though the parking lot.
Through the blocked off path.



And go to the next stop !

It's OK.
Cars come back here for the picnic pavilion.

We were headed for that white house.



The main name used for this house is the Kearney House.











As the sign says, Mrs. Kearney raised nine children in this house ! ! !

The only original building left of what was here back in the day.
You can see the house in the picture above right in the center.

The southern part of the house (left side) was built first sometime around 1761.
At that time this area was called Closter and the house was probably part of the shipping docks that were here.
The Kearneys moved in in 1817 and when Mr. Kearney died his wife made the place into a tavern/inn, which they say is why the northern addition was put on.
The Kearney House on Palisades Interstate Park website.



The Kearney House on Facebook.

Also goes under the name of "Old Cornwallis Headquarters" and "Blackledge-Kearney House".
Some more info and pictures here.

This area has been used for quite a number of things over the years including bathing facilities for people coming over from the heat and bustle of New York City and at one time ferries ran out of here.

This is the setting where this house is located.



And yes, we are still in New Jersey !

----------

326 Alpine Boat Basin

Kearney House @12

[PC-Rider]

So you are probably wondering where the name Alpine Boat Basin came from.

Well, I am glad you asked !





The current name of the town this is in is Alpine, NJ.
Where did Alpine get its name?

"Just after the Civil War, the Erie Railroad arrived in neighboring Closter,
making Alpine more accessible to New York City. It was followed by the
construction of several large estates atop the Palisades. Among the estate
builders was Charles Nordhoff, the New York Herald editor who sent Henry
M. Stanley to Africa in 1869 to find Dr. David Livingstone. Nordhoff's wife,
Lida, is said to have given Alpine its name because the Palisades reminded
her of the Swiss Alps."

"In the early 17th century, the Alpine area was known primarily for a dock
built by a Dutch settler named Frederich Kloester in 1685. It enabled local
farmers to ship their produce to New York City. The dock vanished long ago,
but one of Alpine's main arteries is called Closter Dock Road.
A WINDING access road from Route 9W and the Palisades Interstate
Parkway leads to the Blackledge-Kearney House on the Hudson River,
reputed to have been the site of Lord Corwallis's landing on Nov. 20, 1776,
in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent George Washington from fleeing from
Fort Lee with his troops to Valley Forge."

You don't know until you ask !

Some other interesting information I never knew.
"In 2010, Forbes listed Alpine as 4th in its listing of "America's Most
Expensive ZIP Codes", with a median home price of $3,814,885.^[12] In 2009,
Forbes ranked Alpine first, along with Greenwich, Connecticut, with a
median home price of $4.14 million.^[13] Alpine was ranked #1 in a tie with
Greenwich, Connecticut in both 2006 and 2007 on the ABC News list of
most expensive zip codes, with a median home sale price of $3.4 million."

According to the New York Times.

Historic pictures from Borough of Alpine website including an old aerial photograph of what they call the Rio Vista Tower (Devil's Tower) while it was still an estate.

OK, enough text, here are some more pictures.

Back almost behind the Kearney House is a small waterfall.



A nice stone pavilion was just North of the house.





You can see them setting up a tent here.



Even the bathroom was built like a brick, .... well, you get the idea.





Headed up the hill behind the bathroom was this path.



With some historical significance too.



This is looking North toward where we just came from.
It gives you an idea of the height of the Palisades.



More pictures of the marina.







You can see a tree growing out of the dock.



That part is not a floating dock.
It is filled in, but still unusual to see a tree growing out on the water.



To be honest, I was expecting a lot more of this.



Gotta go check it out.







There were a couple of people fishing so I asked them if they had caught anything.

One said no.

The other pointed to this !



I believe that is an eel !



All I know is, I ain't eatin' it !






They also have one of them new fangled Mercedes Backhoes here.



After reading who lives in this area I think they can afford it !



Then back out.

Up, Up, Up.



----------

Alpine Boat Basin @12

[PC-Rider]

We were going to use the road in the park called Henry Hudson Drive, but like I mentioned, they had some roads blocked off.

We were headed for another area like this one just below some cliffs and right next to the George Washington Bridge.

So we headed back down Route 9 and back under the PIP.



I can not thank our local rider enough for getting us around this area.
Especially with the detours we had to make.



He got us close enough still to get some great pictures of what we came to see.

We stopped in a local neighborhood at a recent Tag that I did not have on my list because of time.
But here we were, and we had the time.





This was what we came to see.





We were in this tight neighborhood, and out next stop was to try and get as close to the George Washington Bridge as possible.

Down the road in front of us.
You can see some of the suspension cables in the background.



You can read mine fairly well, but here is a typed out version and they link other markers close to here with Revolutionary War significance.

Here is some great history and pictures on Wikipedia.

So much history come and gone over the years.

----------

1440 Burdett Was Here

Burdett's Landing @12