Paramus, New Jersey: Difference between revisions

Farview Avenue, located at the highest elevation in Paramus, has a clear view of the [[Manhattan]] [[skyline]].<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1928/03/28/archives/flat-in-jersey-city-resold-to-investor-patrick-j-kennedy-acquires.html "Flat In Jersey City Resold To Investor; Patrick J. Kennedy Acquires the Comfort Apartment on Bergen Avenue. Acreage Deal At Paramus Two Yonkers Plots Are Included in Westchester Transfers—Building Projects."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 28, 1928. Accessed December 25, 2011. "Conrad Roes bought fourteen acres on the west side of Farview Avenue, Paramus, in Bergen County. The property is said to have the second highest elevation in the county and overlooks the Manhattan skyline."</ref>

 

 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Paramus, lacking any master plan until 1969, was redeveloped into two shopping corridors when its farmers and outside developers saw that shopping malls were more lucrative than produce farming.<ref name="Going Shopping p. 257"/> "It was a developer's dream: flat cleared land adjacent to major arterials and accessible to a growing suburban population and the country's largest city – with no planning restrictions".<ref name="Going Shopping p. 257"/> New York had a state sales tax, but New Jersey had none, so with the opening of Manhattan department stores in the [[Bergen Town Center|Bergen Mall]] (1957), the [[Garden State Plaza]] (1957) and [[Alexander's]] (1961), Paramus became the "first stop outside New York City for shopping".<ref name="Going Shopping p. 257">Going Shopping, p. 257</ref> From 1948 to 1958, the population of Paramus nearly quadrupled, from 6,000 to 23,000, while the number of retail establishments tripled from 111 to 319, and annual retail sales increased twenty-fold in nominal dollars, from $5.5 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|5.5|1948|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) to $112 million (equal to ${{Inflation|US|.112|1958|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="Going Shopping p. 257"/> By the 1980s, when the population had increased slightly over 1960s levels, retail sales had climbed to $1 billion.<ref name="Going Shopping p. 257"/>

 

==Parks and recreation==

Paramus is the home to two county parks. On the eastern side of the borough is [[Van Saun County Park]], a {{convert|146|acres|adj=on}} park that features Bergen County's only [[zoo]], home to a wide variety of wild and domestic animals living in recreated habitats natural to each species.<ref>[http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/?nid=852 Van Saun County Park], Bergen County Parks. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref> Van Saun Park also has a playground, train ride, carousel, athletic fields, and pony rides. The Washington Spring site in the park takes its name from reports that General Washington drank water from the spring here while his troops were encamped nearby, west of the Hackensack River.<ref>[http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/paramus_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm Revolutionary War Sites in Paramus, New Jersey], Revolutionary War New Jersey. Accessed June 19, 2016.</ref> The Continental Army is reported to have utilized the old spring at the base of these slopes during the September encampment west of the Hackensack River.

 

 

In 2008, the Paramus Golf Course opened a [[miniature golf]] course that is themed after the borough of Paramus as well as the state of New Jersey. Turkey statues are scattered around the course to celebrate Paramus as the "land of the wild turkeys."<ref>[https://www.paramusminigolf.com/ Home Page], Paramus Mini Golf, Borough of Paramus. Accessed July 6, 2022.</ref>

Paramus has an outdoor municipal swimming pool complex on Van Binsberger Boulevard. It has three pools: a main pool, a pool for younger swimmers, and a baby pool.<ref>[https://www.paramusborough.org/259/Pool Pool], Borough of Paramus. Accessed July 6, 2022.</ref> Paramus Little League were the 2011 New Jersey State [[Little League Baseball]] Champions.<ref>[http://www.unpage.org/newjersey/nj-2011.htm New Jersey State Tournament Major Baseball Division], Unpage. Accessed September 24, 2015.</ref>

 

 

==Annual events==

During the week of the 4th of July, Paramus holds its own Independence Day celebration. First, there is the performance of the Paramus Community Orchestra at the Paramus Bandshell which takes place on July 2. Next, on the 3rd, there is a softball game between the Paramus Fire Department and the Paramus Police Department, held annually since 2011. On the 4th, there is a parade. The parade route starts at the intersection of Century Road and Farview Avenue and ends at Memorial Elementary School. On the 5th, there is a fireworks display at the Cliff Gennarelli Paramus Sportsplex.<ref>[http://www.paramus4thofjuly.com Home Page], Paramus 4th of July Celebration. Accessed July 4, 2015.</ref>

 

 

==Transportation==

===Roads and highways===

{{As of|2015|7}}, the borough had a total of {{convert|121.92|mi}} of roadways, of which {{convert|90.93|mi}} were maintained by the municipality, {{convert|18.86|mi}} by Bergen County, {{convert|7.72|mi}} by the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], and {{convert|4.41|mi}} by the [[New Jersey Turnpike Authority]].<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/mileage_Bergen.pdf Bergen County Mileage by Municipality and Jurisdiction], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], July 2015. Accessed April 28, 2016.</ref>

 

Highways in Paramus include [[New Jersey Route 17|Route 17]],<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000017__-.pdf#page=4 Route 17 Straight Line Diagram], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], updated May 2017. Accessed January 31, 2023.</ref> [[New Jersey Route 4|Route 4]]<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000004__-.pdf#page=2 Route 4 Straight Line Diagram], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], updated May 2017. Accessed January 31, 2023.</ref> and the [[Garden State Parkway]]<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000444__-.pdf#page=58 Garden State Parkway Straight Line Diagram], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], updated August 2014. Accessed January 31, 2023.</ref> (including the Paramus Toll Plaza at Interchange 165).<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/our-roadways.html Travel Resources: Interchanges, Service Areas & Commuter Lots], [[New Jersey Turnpike Authority]]. Accessed October 30, 2013.</ref>

 

 

==Points of interest==

===Historic sites===

Paramus is home to the following locations on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:<ref>[http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists/Bergen.pdf New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] Historic Preservation Office, updated August 17, 2017. Accessed September 24, 2017.</ref>

* [[Easton Tower]] – Intersection of Red Mill Road and Paramus Road (added 2007). The tower was built in 1899 and was originally housed as a water pump that sits alongside the [[Saddle River (Passaic River)|Saddle River]]. The tower was named after businessman [[Edward D. Easton]].<ref>[http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Easton-Tower-9 Easton Tower] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828062643/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Easton-Tower-9 |date=August 28, 2017 }}, [[Bergen County, New Jersey]]. Accessed September 24, 2017.</ref>

 

==Emergency services==

The Paramus Fire Department is a volunteer fire department that has a total of about 130 members who are on call around-the-clock, 365 days a year. Over the last several years, the number of calls for service that the fire department has responded to averages about 1,300 calls per year. The mission of the Paramus Fire Department is to protect the lives and property of the community. The fire department comprises four fire companies:<ref>[https://www.paramusborough.org/257/Volunteer-Fire-Department Volunteer Fire Department], Borough of Paramus. Accessed October 6, 2019.</ref>