Must-visit awful U.S. cities

Go figure. I know it's a large city, but it always seemed part of that amorphous blob known as North Jersey. Newark and maybe Elizabeth are known for a few things, but Paterson was always just a point on a crowded map. Had no idea there was much associated with it.

 

Paterson also has Hinchcliffe Stadium, which is one of few stadiums still existing that hosted Negro League baseball. It's been falling apart for a long time, and looks pretty depressing, but there has been a lot of effort to try to save the stadium.

Hinchliffe Stadium | National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

Yes, way back there were some pretty successful businesses in Paterson and also Jersey City. In Jersey City, there was Colgate Palmolive and Dixon Mills. Also Roosevelt Stadium was home of the NY Giants Triple-A team and Jackie Robinson played his first minor league game there after signing with the Dodgers.

 

A long time ago on here, I posted some pics of Roosevelt Stadium after it was abandoned. It was both pretty cool, and quite sad.

 

For the Pacific Northwest, it's Richland, Wash. (part of the "Tri-Cities" with Pasco and Kenniwick)

You have an EPA Superfund site nearby: Hanford, an old nuclear fuel facility which helped fuel the two bombs in World War II and has since leaked radioactive waste (including an incident earlier this month).

The three cities are hotter than hell for at least six months of the year, and trying to get between them on a horribly confusing tangle of state, federal and interstate highways is a nightmare.

You can get excellent Mexican food there, however.

 

Yes, lot of history there. Thanksgiving high school football games used to sell out, over 20k. Nothing close to that in NJ now, except Phillipsburg vs Easton which is played at Lafayette College.

Guy I used to work with said in the mid 70s he was there for a Sly and the Family Stone concert and Sly showed up about 90 minutes late. Sometimes on the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius they play concerts from Roosevelt Stadium.

Damn, looking at that pic again, the Twin Towers in the background.

 

William Carlos Williams

 

I love the character of Philly and it's people.
I love the history and sites.
I love the food.

But I've known many people, including on this forum, to bag on it.

 

Santa Cruz is both a unique spot in California and kind of over rated. There are some cool restaurants if you can get a local to take you somewhere but the tourist areas are meh. Too many of the lazy hippies, which are the worst kind of hippie. Honestly if you want a beach experience in that area, you're better off going to Soquel or Aptos or head north toward Davenport or closer to Half Moon Bay.

That said, it's Santa Cruz. It's weird. See it. Once.

 

My high school girlfriend - Ivy League graduate, Fulbright scholar and honest-to-god pre-2016 socialist - got married in Soquel. I think she still lives around there.

 

Canton, OH (NFL HOF) and Springfield, MA (Basketball HOF).