Dublin

Dublin

I wish u could speak to some Italians who lived there but they’re gone 

Further east to the Industrial district, lies Dublin.  Back in Paterson's industrial heydey, when laborers, mainly immigrants, would work in the factories, they would live in the rowhouses and tenements of Dublin.

To the right is a grocery store in the Dublin section with a mural of the Puerto Rican and Dominican flags.

The Dublin section is the first immigrant and residential neighborhood of Paterson. And as the name suggests, it was an Irish neighborhood. However, as the Irish moved out and Italian immigrants moved in, it quickly became known as "Little Italy."  In this blog, I will take you to Little Italy and show you its remaining Italian institutions. Today, there are very few Italians left in the neighborhood as Italian Americans have moved to greener pastures in towns such as Woodland Park, formerly West Paterson, and the borough of Totowa, not to be confused with the neighborhood.

In this neighborhood, you will now see a diverse population of Dominicans, Bangladeshis, Peruvians, Mexicans, and other ethnic groups with a few Italians still scattered around.

Typical row houses where immigrants, oftentimes Italians, would live during the Industrial Revolution. Today the people living in these buildings are predominately Latino. 

In the past, Little Italy would extend from Mill Street to Prospect Street and extending from about Ward Street to Passaic Street. These boundaries are approximate.

Today, the last bastion of Little Italy is centered around Cianci Street from Passaic to Ellison, which covers about a block.  

The Italian flag fluttering from a flag pole and a statue of Cristopher Colombus on Federici Park.

#Conqueredit.

Lou Costello, an Italian American from Paterson and one of America’s most talented comedians. He costarred in the long running TV hit in the 1940s and ‘50s with his comedic partner, Bud Abbott in "Abbott and Costello."

A statue of Costello to the left.

Note: Roma just moved relocated to Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson).  They were known for making great espressos.  

S.S. Napoli Club. I took this photo back in 2004. Unfortunately, it closed down along with Caffee Avellino to the right.

There is one Italian store that is still in business, though and that is Pantano's Dairy on the corner of Cianci and Passaic.

I really like Pantano's Dairy because it is a grocery store you would find in the "old Italian neighborhood" and you don't really see too much of this anymore.

Walking into this store, makes me feel I traveled back in time to when Paterson had many Italians living here, but in a good way.  The owner still speaks to his customers in Italian, and English if you are not an Italian speaker like myself.  

The store also offers gragnase linguine, polenta, Italian chocolates, biscottifcio (a type of biscotti).

All meats and cheese are imported from Italy. And they are cheap too.

I got a quarter pound of Swiss cheese from this store for $1.25.  I liked the cheese because it wasn't as greasy as the cheese you buy in the supermarket. I asked the owner of the store and he said everything in the counter is imported from Italy.

Pantano's Dairy is not afraid to show its Italian pride!

St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church

This is St Michael's, on 70 Cianci Street just south of Market.  This church was built in 1836 and is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. 

St. Michael’s still offers mass in Italian, as well as in English and Spanish. 

Cosmo Lazzara was an important figure in Paterson. Lazzara, along with his son, Joseph, ran a successful bakery "Lazzara's Bakery" on Cianci.  Joseph eventually became a politician.