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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Hidden Gems #2: The Graffiti Dog House



Beware of the dog!

This small two story family house sits quietly between two other structures as cars whiz by. The heavy and colorful graffiti and rotting wood standing out. This local monstrosity caught my eye on the way to another local gem. In the corner of my eye, I saw her bright colored paint and knew I had to pull over and give her the once over. Someone actually lives here based on the padlocked chain around the door. Who would live in such substandard conditions? A roof is a roof in the quicksand of gentrifying neighborhoods and sky-high rents.

This house goes way back past 2007 as being boarded up. It wasn't until 2013 it received its base color of yellow and blue before receiving its graffiti marks sometime around September 2013 and September 2014. The house on the left was also vacant before being renovated.

Still continuing this series and feeling out where its headed in the future. So far I like the juxtapose of the old standing house mixed in with occupied and well-maintained housing. It truly stands out in these times of hyperinflated housing prices and obscene rents. 

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