1937: A RE-RUN: BALDERSTON CHEVROLET WAS ON PRINCETON AVENUE NEAR THE BATTLE MONUMENT

1937: MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM YOUR LOCAL CHEVY DEALERS

This was posted a while back, but a Facebook visitor requested information on the location of Balderston Chevrolet. Accordingly, I am re-posting complete with comments received at the time of the original post.
An original portion of this ad has been eliminated in order to get the complete greeting on the screen. This was the year of "knee action;" that incredibly hi tech feature which gave the cars of the 30's more stability on the road. That old Chevy grille is as familiar as the one we all knew and loved on the Ford V-8's from that era. I found the Weigel Chevrolet listing very interesting. I am quite familiar with the 1300 block of Hamilton Avenue and will have to see who is now occupying that plot of land.

FROM LOCAL AUTO HISTORIAN RAY PASZKIEWICZ, THIS INTERESTING UPDATE, advising me that Weigel Chevrolet was located in the building ultimately taken over by the Royal Crown Bottling Company. Today it is a day care center. MANY THANKS FOR THE FOLLOWING EMAIL, RAY; YOU'RE THE BEST!(BY THE WAY, I REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT I EXPERIENCED AS I TOOK OVER THE CAB OF A BEAUTIFUL NEW 1952 CHEVROLET PANEL TRUCK, ADVERTISED BACK THEN AS "ADVANCED DESIGN!"

RAY WROTE:

Hi Tom, This is a very interesting advertisement, because two of the dealerships changed names, one changed ownership, and the third is totally new to me and is an exciting discovery.
Balderston Chevrolet, later became Gilbert and Mott Chevrolet, remaining in the Princeton Avenue location for many years. They moved to Spruce Street, probably in the 1970s.
South Broad Chevrolet became Bonderchuk Chevrolet at the Broad Street location, until they finally moved out to Nottingham Way for lack of space. I knew Mr. Bonderchuk personally, as I called on the dealership, in my capacity with General Motors and would speak with him often. He was always outgoing and friendly to me and I had much respect for the way he ran his business. He was hurt by the fact that his employees went on strike to bring in the union and one day he locked the doors and walked away.
The South Broad location was very compact. There was no showroom. The new cars on display were were parked out front of the office area facing the street. Only 2 cars would fit. The service entrance was in the center of the building and the parts department was on the corner.
On the new model announcement date, the service area was cleaned, painted and decorated, so the new models could be displayed inside. I still remember the thrill, back in late 1952, when the first 1953s came in on the truck. They were covered and the truck driver pulled up the cover just enough to get into the cars and back them off the trailer. They were immediately hidden from view. We could see enough to read Bel Air on the side of sedans, as well as hardtops. This was a first, and it had us pretty excited. Previously, only 2 door hardtops were Bel Airs. Now there was a whole series of Bel Airs. A big deal for a couple of car crazy 13 year old kids. Sometimes, the new cars were hidden on the property of the Russian Orthodox church on the corner of Stanton and Adeline. Mr. Bonderchuk was a member and benefactor of the church. Bonderchuk had their used car lot a block south on Broad, between Remsen and Lakeside. I purchased my 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop there in 1959.
Weigel Chevrolet is the mystery. The location, 1337 Hamilton Avenue, is the old Royal Crown Bottling Co. building, on the corner of Charlotte Ave. I was unaware of this dealer and I will do some research to find out when and how long they were in business. Thanks for finding this advertisement. Another piece of the puzzle in the automotive history of Trenton, NJ.
Best regards, Ray Paszkiewicz

Thanks to Alan Wildblood, this Royal Crown Cola Hamilton Avenue information on the location of the Weigel Chevrolet company:

I Did some research on the Royal Crown address. My findings:

Times, Wednesday, April 23, 1923 nice ad announcing opening of Nale & Weigle (all makes) at Davis and Hamilton, owners William S. Hale and Fred Weigel.

November 19, 1924 ad for Nale & Weigel's new garage, 1337 Hamilton

It was given as Nale & Weigel as late as May 1930

Last mention of Weigel's (in Times classifieds), a "clean-up sale" on October 6, 1938

September 7, 1939, Page 14, a big bottle-illustrated ad for Royal Crown, 1337 Hamilton, (patent or trademark challenged)

August 1, 1952 Royal Crown suspending operations.

Anonymous said...

There was a fourth Chevrolet dealership. Possibly they were too small to participate in the poster advertisement or maybe they were a "sub dealer" which I'm not familiar with. Patterson Chevrolet was oriignally on Nottingham Way in Hamilton Square. Bertis Dean Patterson started in '33 selling Ford and in '33 or '35 switched to selling Chevrolet. If someone has more information for that time frame (1931-35) please post.

Friday, January 15, 2010