At a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Monday, President Obama signed into law the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park Act.  The Paterson Act is part of an omnibus parks and historic preservation bill that the President called one of the most important pieces of natural resource legislation in decades.
 
In urging Congress to pass the bill, Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton, described the Paterson Great Falls as “not only a spot of spectacular beauty that deserves to be far better known, but one that occupies a place of supreme importance in the annals of American economic history.”  As the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton founded the City of Paterson to begin implementing his plan to harness the force of the Great Falls—then the nation’s largest waterfall—to power new industries that would secure America’s economic independence. 
 
True to Hamilton’s vision, Paterson became a great manufacturing city.  Its factories produced the first mildew-resistant cotton sailcloth, which went into every ship in the American Navy; the first Colt revolvers; and the first motorized submarine.  Paterson manufactured more locomotives than any city in the nation, and more silk than any city in the world.  Famed products of the plants of Paterson also included the aircraft engines for the first trans-Atlantic flight and for many World War II bombers.
 
The passage of this Act not only honors and preserves Paterson’s past; it will also brighten its future.  One federal agency has ranked Paterson as the most economically distressed city in the United States.  Residents and local community leaders deeply believe that the creation of the national historical park—coupled with preservation and redevelopment of the historic center of the city—will have an enormously positive impact on Paterson’s 175,000 residents.  We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse the course of urban decline that Paterson has suffered over the last 50 years.
 
We are poised to move quickly to create a very special national park that will dramatically improve the city’s image and help bring greater prosperity to the park’s environs.  With over $10 million in funding from the State of New Jersey, we helped organize a national competition and selected James Corner and his award-winning landscape architectural firm Field Operations to design the park.  We have com pleted the master plan for the park, and a longer-term plan for restoration and development in the surrounding neighborhoods.
 
The proposed Paterson Great Falls National Park won the praise of many distinguished scholars, historic preservationists, and national environmental organizations that helped secure broad bipartisan support from across the country.  Many of you helped in ways large and small with the passage of this Act, and we will be posting a web page gratefully acknowledging your contributions.
 
Today I want to single out one individual’s unique efforts to make this park a reality.  John Hope Franklin, my professor some years ago at the University of Chicago, had served as chairman of the federal advisory board on Rethinking the National Parks in the 21st Century.  He pointed out that millions of Americans, particularly racial minorities and recent immigrants, feel little or no connection to our National Park System.  John Hope Franklin believed that a park in Paterson—whose founder Alexander Hamilton fervently opposed slavery and was an advoca te for immigrants—would resonate with all Americans, starting with the Latino, African-American, and Muslim-American residents of Paterson.  For this reason, John Hope became a strong supporter of the bill and provided sage counsel all along the way.  Sadly, he died at the age of 94 on the day Congress passed the bill.  John Hope would have been proud to see President Obama sign it into law, creating one of the few urban national parks whose neighbors are largely immigrants and men and women of color whose history is so closely tied with the story of freedom and economic opportunity.
 
At the White House, just before the President signed the bill, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar spoke about the fact that we are in a time of deep uncertainty and economic pain.  But, he added, “for Americans, moments of crisis are opportunities to rebuild, renew, and restore the places we cherish.”  We thank my friend and teacher John Hope Franklin, and we thank all of you, for creating the opportunity to rebuild, renew, and restore the Great Falls and historic Paterson.
 
Additional background on the Paterson National Park is in this New York Times audio slideshow:
http://select.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20060212_TOWNS_AUDIOSS/blocker.html
 
With all good wishes,
 
Leonard
 
Leonard A. Zax
Chairman, The Hamilton Partnership

We just missed John playing in NYC at The Cell Theatre on November 14, 2008.  John plays alto sax in a group called The Greatest Little Big Band (in the History of the Megaverse).  We will try to follow his tour and let you know where he is playing next.