The Life and Times of Fred Wesley Wentworth: The Architect Who Shaped Paterson, NJ and Its People

In 1888, a young Dartmouth College alumnus from a distinguished New Hapshire family arrived in Paterson, New Jersey to pursue his plan of becoming an architect. He settled in a dynamic and fast growing city where fortunes were being made in silk, commerce and heavy industry. His practice took root and within years he was designing homes, commercial buildings and institutions for the area’s leading citizens. His buildings are thoughtful, well designed and typify the architecture of their time.

As Paterson changed, Wentworth found an unlikely client who transformed his career. Jacob Fabian, a Jewish entrepreneur engaged Wentworth to design grade movie palaces throughout New Jersey. They helped define the movie palace prototype. Fabian’s success grew at a time of Jewish anxiety regarding their role in the city of Paterson and the nation at large. With the support from Fabian, Wentworth became the architect for the institutions of Jewish life in Paterson and these buildings shaped generations of immigrants and their children.