2015: PLEASE SOMEONE; SAVE HAMILTON'S HISTORIC BROMLEY INN!

 

Back in 1897 when Mr. Charles Fulkert a South Trenton saloon owner, opened the Bromley Inn, little did he know that he was creating an historic edifice that would become a perfect gathering place for prominent persons from all over the east coast who were harness racing horse owners and race fans and very active in the Lexington Kentucky style harness racing track at financier Henry N. Smith's Fashion Stud Farm. General Grant and other notables kept one of his horses in the stables at the stud farm. For those unfamiliar with the aforementioned racing venue, the stud farm was located in the area of today's Grounds For Sulpture and of course the late, lamented "Interstate Fair;" more familiarly known known as the New Jersey State Fair. Sadly, the Bromley Inn is falling into a sad physical state as it sits abandoned and forlornly on Route 33. We are very encouraged by the news that there is going to be a Walmart placed on the site which will serve as an anchor store in the new shopping center. A tip of the hat to our town fathers for bringing this worthy project to fruition. I would bet that the new shopping center will be a popular and much needed asset to those of us who are residents of the Bromley area. It would also be the ideal time for a history minded entity to capitalize on the popularity of the Grounds For Sculpture area, and look to the possibilities of the Bromley Inn for preservation and utilization. As a 60 year resident of Bromley (Greenwood Village 1950 and currently Atlantic Avenue,) Sincere thanks to Hamilton Township's Economic Development people for what could be a new positive future for aging Bromley; a great old neighborhood that I perceive to be a community in need of attention.

1888 and 1891: THE INTERSTATE FAIR - HAMILTON NJ

 

Many of us in the over 60 age group remember the fabled, late, great N.J. State Fair which was located on Nottingham Way in the area of today's "Fairgrounds Mall"  and the Grounds for Sculpture. This area is one of the more historically interesting areas in Hamilton. Originally the site of the old N.J. Agricultural Fair, then the home of the Henry N. Smith "Fashion Stud Farm" along with Charles Fulkert's historic "Bromley Inn," this area was alive with many activities back in the last half of the 19th century. The graphics represent very early N.J. State Fair historic documents. The fair was popularly known back in the early 20th century as "The Interstate Fair."

"2014 IF I WERE A RICH MAN"

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ehwvZXVKmPU

"If I were a rich man, ya da dah dah da dum..." So goes the song from "Fiddler on the Roof." Indeed, if I were a rich, rich, ,man, I would be first in line to seek out those historic sites that are being neglected and allowed to deteriorate due to the lack of funding to restore, or at least preserve them for possible future restoration. The link above was sent to me by my friend and auto historian Ray Paskiewicz. The link will take you to a video telling the story of the very first "Air Force One" which was a Lockheed "Constellation" used by President Eisenhower. A real sad story as we see at the end of the video the historic aircraft rotting away in the Arizona desert. Below is a photo of one of Hamilton's historic treasures which is now boarded up and presenting a depressing site on Nottingham Way here in Hamilton. It occurred to me that this historic old structure built back in the 1890's by Charles Fulkert would be a wonderful headquarters for Hamilton's exquisite "Grounds For Sculpture"or another local entity with the interest in historic preservation. Ahh, If only I were a rich man!"

BROMLEY 27 YEARS AGO. HOW THE TIME HAS FLOWN!

I remember the day I walked the neighborhood looking for vestiges of the Bromley of yesteryear and here we are 27 years later, and these photos taken with one of those antique 35 mm cameras once again come alive with photos of vintage Bromley structures. Few people realize this historic area of Hamilton which dates back to the colonial era when the Anderson Farm, which was once located on the city line in the area of today's North Logan Avenue, extended all the way out to the Greenwood Cemetery area. During the first decade of the 20th century, the area began to develop with the neighborhoods of Bromley Place and Bromley Manor bringing many residents to what was then rural Bromley. Further down Nottingham Way the historic Bromley Inn is slowly deteriorating and with the financial crunch we have in this year of 2014, chances are nearly nil that anyone with financial means will come along and restore that local treasure that dates back to Charles Fulkert's Bromley Inn, 1897.

1935: NOTTINGHAM WAY APPROACHING THE BROMLEY INN

LOVE THIS PHOTO! IN THE DISTANCE BEHIND THE R.C. MAXWELL ADVERTISING BOARD YOU CAN SEE THE BROMLEY INN. I AM GUESSING THAT THE CAMERA IS VERY NEAR THE ENTRANCE TO SUBURBAN PLAZA (BURGER KING, PAYLESS SHOES, ETC.)

1897: BROMLEY HOTEL -- NOT BROMLEY INN!

Even though we have become accustomed to hearing that historic and rapidly deteriorating building on Route 33 having its name changed years ago to the Bromley Inn, it all started out as the Bromley Hotel. Before he moved out to the Bromley section of Hamilton Township in the latter part of the 19th century, Charles Fulkert operated a saloon at the corner of Centre and Furman Streets in South Trenton. There are countless romantic articles telling of the weddings and other community events that were part of the history of this historic Hamilton landmark. Back in the years when Henry N. Smith's Fashion Stud Farm was in operation in the area behind the Hamilton-Enterprise Fire Company and all the way to the fair grounds area, wealthy horsemen from all over the country stayed in the sumptuous hotel. Later, many from far and near stayed there during those many Septembers of long ago when the Interstate Fair was in operation.

1935: NOTTINGHAM WAY APPROACHING THE BROMLEY INN

This photo shows the Bromley Inn in the background, and a concrete Nottingham Way in a very sparsely settled area as it was 78 years ago when I was a two year old toddler! Note the open spaces on either side of the road, and the gas station on the left.

1940: THE BROMLEY INN DURING ITS HEYDAY

I have always been fascinated by that beautiful historic building on Nottingham Way. I put together a Maxwell "cut and paste" photo of that structure as it looked when it was well maintained and in fine condition. the inn was a very popular venue for local residents who went there for formal ceremonies, wedding receptions, and as can be seen by the Hamilton Library files below the photo, open air concerts.

1940: Roth's Bromley Inn

Here's another R.C. Maxwell segmented photo which I extracted, enlarged, and tweaked from a wider view. This historically beautiful building should qualify for historic preservation. It dates back to the late 19th century when Charles Fulkert was "mein host."

2012: HAMILTON'S HISTORIC BROMLEY INN

Bye-bye, Bromley — We’ll miss you

The Bromley Inn in Trenton, owned and operated by Rick Roth and family, closed its doors last Friday. A long-standing and unique establishment with lots of history, it will be truly missed by its clientele.

One of my friends commented that when she entered the Bromley, she felt like it was 1920 — there were no television sets or high-volume music, which made it very conducive to the art of conversation. Located not far from the old fairgrounds, persons such as Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill, when touring the country, were guests there, when it was an inn.

Rick’s grandfather, his father, and in recent years, his son Fredrich, made it a four-generation establishment. Rick liked to say the Bromley was not a restaurant, just a tavern that happened to serve food. Rick Roth and his wife Gloria, son Freddy and girlfriend Ivy, as well as daughter Alexandra always made it a point to greet guests warmly and make them feel right at home. Longtime employees Dee, Debbie, Uncle Stevie, Jimmie and the late George Hancock made the Bromley a place to remember.

We among many others will truly miss the old place, and we wish the best to everyone who made it so special.

-- Marie and Bob Malloy,
Columbus

I received the above email from fellow Kuser School alumnus Harry Hall regarding the closing of the Bromley Inn. Unfortunately there was very little publicity that I could find on the subject. It is my hope that another entrepreneur will renovate the historic landmark and thus preserve it as the historic treasure it is. My research finds that the earliest reference to Charles Fulkert's Bromley Inn dates back to 1897. During the prohibition era, it was known as the "FAIR-VUE INN" under the proprietorship of Mr. Tom Murphy. It was raided numerous times during the 1920's for illegal gambling and liquor violations.

Anonymous said...

I found in the History of Hamilton Township book published by the Historical Society that the Bromley Inn was built in 1888 by a man named Williamson who named it after his home in England.

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Tom Glover said...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION, "ANONYMOUS." I CAN FIND NO EVIDENCE THAT THE BROMLEY INN WAS BUILT IN 1888. PERHAPS THE DEED LISTS MR. WILLIAMSON AS THE OWNER OF THE LAND OR EVEN AN EXISTING BUILDING. UNTIL I RECEIVE INFORMATION AS TO THE ORIGIN OF THE BROMLEY INN, I WILL ASSUME THAT THE CLIPPING FROM 1897 ABOVE ANNOUNCING THAT BROMLEY INN HALL IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS IS AT LEAST AN EARLY INDICATOR OF THE ORIGIN OF THE INN. IN YEARS PAST IT ALSO ACTED AS A MINI HOTEL WITH ROOMS ON THE UPPER FLOOR. I HAVE DONE AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH ON CHARLES FULKERT (SALOON OWNER AT 402 CENTRE STREET CORNER OF FEDERAL, TRENTON) WILLIAMSON, BROMLEY, AND HAVE FOUND NOTHING REGARDING THE ACTUAL ORIGIN. AS TO THE NAME "BROMLEY,"IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THE AREA IS NAMED FOR THE BRITISH TOWN OF "BROMLEY," I HAVE FOUND NO HISTORIC EVIDENCE THAT WILLIAMSON COINED THE NAME. PERHAPS THE ACTUAL DEED TO THE PROPERTY WILL CLEAR UP THE ORIGIN QUESTION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO ACCESS TO THAT DOCUMENT.

TOM GLOVER

1927: BROMLEY RE-OPENS WITH RESTRICTIONS

Back during the prohibition era, many local hotels, bars and other sources of prohibited alcoholic beverages were caught by the Feds for violating the law agains alcoholic beverages. Hamilton's Bromley Inn was one of them.

Bromley Inn Circa 1910

This very rare photo of the fabled Bromley Inn is from an old glass negative. The white spots which obliterate part of the image is the result of the slide being subjected to moisture at some time during its long period of storage. The sign indicates that "Mein Host" Charles Fulkert was a
purveyor of the beer from the Kuser family's brewery.