New Jersey's Once-Forgotten Industrial Town Now Thrives As A Charming New York City Suburb

In recent years, Harrison, New Jersey, has become a popular suburb for commuters who work in Manhattan. It's across the Passaic River from Newark's flavorful and historic Ironbound neighborhood, directly along the PATH rail system that connects New Jersey to New York City. From Harrison to Manhattan's One World Trade Center stop is just a 23-minute ride, giving folks who live in the luxury apartments of Harrison's Riverbend District an easy daily commute. Newark Liberty International Airport is just 15 minutes away, too, making it an equally convenient option for tourists.

Harrison is a small town, covering just 1.3 square miles, but like many places around New York City it packs a lot into its limited space. Its most significant landmark is on the town's riverfront: the Sports Illustrated Stadium, the arena home to the New York Red Bulls (Major League Soccer) and Sky Blue FC (National Women's Soccer League). West Hudson Park stretches along the town's northern border, giving locals and visitors quick access to green space. Between these two boundary points are residential streets dotted with independent restaurants and a quaint downtown at the crossroads of Harrison Avenue and Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard. Artsy destinations like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Newark Museum of Art in Newark's University Heights neighborhood are just a few minutes away.

But Harrison didn't always have this much to offer visitors. At the turn of the 20th century, it was known as the "Beehive of Industry," with a long waterfront near major rail lines that was home to factories from companies like RCA, Otis Elevator, and the Edison Lamp Works. While there are still several manufacturing plans operating in Harrison, the town's overall identity has shifted dramatically from its industrial heyday, after spending decades largely overlooked.

The modern town of Harrison officially formed in 1840, when Hudson County split off from Bergen County. The land was originally inhabited by the Unami branch of the Leni Lenapi Native Americans, and was part of a land grant known as New Barbados Neck that extended north to the present town of Rutherford. By the late 19th century, that large tract had been split up into multiple smaller towns and was already known as a manufacturing hub. The Edison Light Works was one of the first major companies to open a factory there in 1882, and more soon followed.

Harrison peaked as an industrial hub in the 1940s. At that point, the town was home to about 14,000 people, but more than 90,000 commuters traveled in each day for work. The factories kept going strong through the 1960s, when manufacturing declined across the United States. RCA's factory closed when new inventions replaced the radio tube, Otis Elevator shut down after a buyout, and the collapse of the U.S. steel industry led to the shuttering of plants like Crucible Steel. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the industrial areas of Harrison were largely abandoned and fell into disrepair.

The empty space along Harrison's waterfront became the setting for its next chapter. Mayor Raymond McDonough devised a redevelopment plan in the late 1990s, and it went into action in the early aughts with the construction of the riverfront Hampton Inn and River Park apartment complex. The first major project was Red Bull Arena (renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium in 2024), which hosted its first game in 2010. Since then, the area around Harrison's PATH station has expanded to include almost 3,000 apartments, many in mixed-use buildings that are also home to restaurants and retail space.

While many people choose Harrison for its proximity to New York City attractions like Central Park (named the No. 1 tourist attraction in the country in 2025) and the free-to-visit Gansevoort Beach, you don't need to leave town to find entertainment. Sports Illustrated Stadium kicked off its first concert series in 2025, making it a destination for live music as well as soccer games. You'll get that same blend of music and sports at smaller venues like The Parc Tavern, which hosts live performers, DJs, and weekly karaoke nights along with showing pay-per-view UFC fights and boxing matches.

Harrison also has a lot of places to enjoy the outdoors. The compact Harrison Riverfront Park has a playground and picnic area, and the historic Jackson Street Swing Bridge leads to the larger Newark Riverfront Park across the Passaic River. The aforementioned West Hudson Park is the largest green space in Harrison, with 46 acres of sports fields and parkland around the 2-acre Fairy Lake. For families, the spray park is a popular place to cool off in the summer.

At the heart of Harrison is its downtown area, where you'll find a lot of the town's international restaurants. La Fiamma is a local favorite for Italian, with a large menu that includes a variety of veal dishes. Next door, Sophia's EcuaCafe Restaurant is an Ecuadorian take-out spot where the cevice gets especially high praise, with one reviewer lauding its "great portion with a lot of shrimp and amazing taste." Elsewhere on Harrison Avenue you can get authentic Mexican cuisine at El Macho Taquería, Colombian dishes and baked goods at Antojos Colombianos, Taiwanese fare at Tiam Tiam, or Indian food at Urban Tandoor — and those aren't even all the options on that street. Whatever you're craving, odds are you'll find somewhere to order it in Harrison.