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Monday, May 07, 2012

1949: E. FRONT AND SO. MONTGOMERY ST.

The changes in the city of Trenton over the past 50 years has been dramatic. Those of us who remember the city when the only "skyscrapers" were the Broad Street Bank building, the Bell Telephone building, and the hotels will find a completely different cityscape in this year of 2012. The city is overflowing with huge glass encrusted office buildings. A recent trip down North Warren Street, through E. State Street and merging into South Broad Street is completely unfamiliar to those of us who remember a smaller and less populated center city. I would ask regular Trenton experts Ralph Lucarella, Mike Kuzma,and Ed Millerick to verify that the photo above is taken on E. Front Street looking west, with So. Montgomery the street on the right.
Note the Montgomery Ward building on East State Street in the back ground.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom:
You are 100% accurate with the description of "East Front St. looking West" The store front next to the gas station was a cleaner, and the brick building behind the Gas station was an upholstery shop, and then "Tony Kall's" famous Gin Mill. Out of site and across from Kall's was Ribsam's garden Shop where the employees knew somthing about the plants, and trees and shrubs they sold. Unlike today's Lowe's, and Home Depot where they only know how to operate a cash register. At the left hand side of this intersection was a quaint little church that has ultimately become the "Playhouse" where amateur thespians ply the boards.
Now across from the gas station sits the relocated Mahlon Stacy house which formerly sat across from Uncle Charlie's War Memorial.
As Chief Real Estate Officer for the City of Trenton, I was responsible for purchasing all these properties in the name of Urban Renewal. Oh how I wished my mother locked me in the basement, and the abortion of Downtown Trenton never took place.

Sadly

Mike Kuzma

AHH YES, MIKE; I KNOW I CAN COUNT ON MY "OLD RELIABLES" TO BOLSTER MY HISTORIC POSTS, AFFIRM FACTS, AND KEEP ME HONEST WHEN I GO HISTORICALLY ASTRAY!

MANY THANKS,

TOM

Anonymous said...

Oops, I made have misidentified the house relocted from Stacy park to Front St.
Having a senior moment
Mia Culpa
Mike

rayfromvillapark said...

Hi Tom, I agree with Mike 100%. I do remember the Gulf station on the corner. Also, if you look closely to the right, you can see a car that appears to be perpendicular to the street, but in the middle of the street. You could park in the middle of the street, all the way to the public bathrooms, which were on Montgomery St just before you reached East State St. When they demolished the buildings on the near right, this area became the parking lot behind the Arnold Constable department store. Ray P. (rayfromvillapark)



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tom:
You are 100% accurate with the description of "East Front St. looking West" The store front next to the gas staion was a cleaner, and the brick building behind the Gas station was an upholstery shop, and than "Tony Kall's" famous
Gin Mill. Out of site and across from Kall's was Ribsam's garden Shop where the employees knew somthing about the plants, and trees and scrubs they sold. Unlike today's Lowe's, and Home Depot where they only know how to operate a cash register.
At the left hand side of this intersection was a quaint little church that has ultimately become the "Playhouse" where amature thespians ply the boards.
Now across from the gas station sits the relocated Mahlon Stacy house which formerly sat across from Uncle Charlie's War Memorial.
As Chief Real Estate Officer for the City of Trenton, I was responsible for purchasing all these properties in the name of Urban Renewal. Oh how I wished my mother locked me in the basement, and the abortion of Downtown Trenton never took place.

Sadly

Mike Kuzma

Anonymous said...

Oops, I made have misidentified the house relocted from Stacy park to Front St.
Having a senior moment
Mia Culpa
Mike

rayfromvillapark said...

Hi Tom, I agree with Mike 100%. I do remember the Gulf station on the corner. Also, if you look closely to the right, you can see a car that appears to be perpendicular to the street, but in the middle of the street. You could park in the middle of the street, all the way to the public bathrooms, which were on Montgomery St just before you reached East State St. When they demolished the buildings on the near right, this area became the parking lot behind the Arnold Constable department store. Ray P. (rayfromvillapark)

Anonymous said...

Tom:

It came to me in the middle of the night!
The name of the relocated historic house is; "The Douglas House".

It seems the time has come to write things down. LOL

Mike Kuzma