Inside the Abandoned National Silk Dyeing Co.: Paterson, NJ's Forgotten Textile Mill (Photos)

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  The text message from my friend J was simple: a list of addresses in Newark and Paterson. An invitation. An urban treasure map with Xs marking forgotten places. I picked the one on Piercy Street. Pulling up, I saw the building wasn’t exactly hiding. It was a behemoth of brick and colorful lettered graffiti, a whole city block of decay. A door gaped open next to an old loading dock, but the scene gave me pause. Mounds of illegally dumped trash lay along the floor of the loading bay. This part of Paterson has a tough reputation, and the open doors felt less like an invitation and more like a dare. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of dust and damp. I found myself in a vast, open space littered with plastic containers and skeletal metal shelving. I moved deeper, drawn toward the old boiler house section. Before I reached it, I walked into a room that stopped me cold. Everything was stained a deep, blood red. A fine crimson powder coated the fl...
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Abandoned Oil Depot: Revisited (2017)







I returned to this once illustrious property with a new friend I am going to call JM. JM and I visited this property I explored last year alone. I found the place as I originally found it minus the squatter filth and homeless encampment inside the office building I had not explored. I ventured back to show my friend J the place. It surely doesn't disappoint. The property is subdivided by a rail line and continues in either direction a good mile and a half. The property was completely wide open as per usual and nothing of note seemed to have changed but a few plastered up wooden frames in front of the office buildings.










Giving the property a thorough exploration, I ventured inside the oil tank and immediately thought of The Proper People video where they ventured inside a much larger oil tank and busted out a solo guitar tune. A well known shot and audio in there opening trailer. Inside the sound of my voice reverberated around in the mostly silent enclosure minus the sound of the highway traffic 700 ft away. Some artwork was adorned inside but nothing of note or high complexity. An erie feeling and new experience. One for the fond memory portfolio.










Exploring away from the office buildings I headed straight for the most intact oil tank on the property. Climbing the spiraling stairs my heart raced. I was surely going to be in full view of passing vehicles and any passing local PD. I sauntered on with a clear goal to summit the tank. I was rewarded by my risky escapade as the nearby city opened up over the skyline. A truly rewarding experience. A view granted to the most daring of explorers. Trust your gut and put away the anxiety and life truly rewards the bold and courageous.





















Exiting and hightailing it out of there, we began to move to the next abandonment down the street for entry assessment. As soon as we exited, a local PD car stopped at the intersection. We continued walking like we owned the place. The vehicle turned towards the highway and we breathed a sigh a relief. A good start to the day!








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