 Paramus became one of the "truck farming" areas that helped New Jersey earn its nickname as the "Garden State".By 1940, Paramus' population was just 4,000, with no town center and 94 retail establishments.Although the opening of the George Washington Bridge in 1931 and the widening of New Jersey Route 17 and New Jersey Route 4 (which intersect in southern Paramus), made the area accessible to millions, "it was not until the 1950s that massive development hit this section of northern New Jersey".