Historic Paterson Armory Demolition

An excavator pulled down parts of the historic building in small chunks, bricks crashing down to the ground. A crew member wet down the debris to tamp down any asbestos particles.

A huge piece of Paterson’s history came crashing down on Friday, as a demolition crew began razing the 120-year-old armory, days after a devastating fire ended any hope of reviving the historic structure. Danny Kramer, who stopped by during the demolition late Friday morning, remembers working as an usher at the Paterson Armory during the 1960s and witnessing an obscure moment in rock and-roll history. The history books confirm that Hendrix did work as a sideman with the Teaneck-based Isley Brothers in 1964 the year the Beatles came to America, and when the Paterson Armory, built in 1894, was already near 70 years old. He remembers Army tanks rolling down the street, and said there’s a cell block in the basement and a network of tunnels under the armory that connected to Eastside High School and Paterson General Hospital, which was located where the Roberto Clemente School now stands. The Paterson Armory was the place to go for cheap sports entertainment boxing, wrestling, basketball. Read entire article here: http://www.northjersey.com/news/as-demolition-of-historic-paterson-armory-begins-neighborhood-s-memories-flow-1.1454959