1889: CHANGING THE NAMES OF TRENTON STREETS

This is a very comprehensive list of street names that were changed back in 1889. This was originally a 37 inch single Trenton Evening Times classified ad column and much too long to be legibly seen on a computer screen. It has been digitally converted to 4 columns. It provides an excellent reference for Trenton history minded citizens whose research lists old Trenton city names.

1950: NO OLDEN AVENUE EXTENSION

I may have posted this previously, but it is worth posting again, Last Saturday, I performed patriotic songs for the Ewing Township Patriotic Committee over in the Scotch Road-Upper Ferry Road area. I chose to go via the same route I took on a daily basis to my former job at the Trenton Bearing Company in the building formerly occupied by the Carrier Cleaners but vacant and abandoned. As I wended my way down the very busy North Olden Avenue, once again I was amazed at how that strip of highway as developed! The R.C. Maxwell Duke University photo above shows the intersection at the Arctic Parkway, Home Depot now resides across from the parkway with a huge store. Gone are all the names I recall from the 1950's: Moffatt Bearings, Richardson & Son, Breihler's, the Carvel store, Biter's Transfer, Frank's hot dog stand near Pennington Road, Jack and Bob's, the Edgewood Inn, Mrs.G's, Polish John's Parkside Diner which has become a beautiful and very much larger diner, and others that many visitors to this site will recall.

1941: HOWARD JOHNSON ROUTE 25 BORDENTOWN

Back when I was a new teenage driver, one of the things I and my buddies did as we cruised around the area when gas was 19.9 cents per gallon, was to drive up what was then known as the "highway of death" due to all the many accidents and the truck traffic that traversed north and south before the N.J. Turnpike was built. They were such simple pleasures: We would let those 18 wheelers pass us and as they did we would blink our headlights telling him it was OK for him to go back into the right lane ahead of us. He in turn would return the courtesy with a blink of his tail lights as he changed lanes and slipped in front of us. We often rode Route 25 (today's U.S. Route 130, occasionally stopping at Bordentown's Hamburger Haven, a trip to Millside Farms for a banana boat, or sampling one of Howard Johnson's 28 flavors. Ahh, memories are indeed made of this!

1940: NOTTINGHAM WAY APPROACHING GREENWOOD AVENUE

On the left is the fence that once surrounded Greenwood Cemetery. This photo was taken across the street from the Bromley Inn. I am completely puzzled by the lay of the land as a drive would stay on Nottingham Way toward Trenton. The Harter nursery was on the left as you passed Greenwood Avenue. I am puzzled by the large mansion which appears to be in the middle of Nottingham Way. This is less than a quarter mile from my neighborhood, and I can't explain that building. Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Tom:
The gas station was just before the Hamilton Municipal complex, and later was used as a Real Estate Office/Travel agency.
If you were raised Off of
So. Olden Ave. near the oft mentioned Kuser Farm, you were one hell of long quarter mile away. More like 3-4 miles. Example; Newkirk to Liberty to Hamilton to Ward to Greenwood.
No wonder you grew old fast. Those short walks were too long for your little legs! LOL
Mike Kuzma

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tom Glover said...

MIKE: I WAS RAISED ON HARTLEY AVENUE ACROSS FROM KUSER FARM, BUT HAVE BEEN LIVING ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM THE INTERSECTION IN THE ABOVE PHOTO ON ATLANTIC AVENUE IN HAMILTON FOR 60 YEARS.

TOM

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Anonymous said...

How many of the readers of this column have ancestors buried in Greenwood Cemetery?

Warren Rue

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tom Glover said...

MY MOM, DAD AND OLDER BROTHER ARE BURIED THERE.

TOM

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Candy Frenking Jens said...

behind the gas station, running between Greenwood and Nottingham, was Howe's Nursery, an offspring of the main nursery in Pennington. Bill Howe Jr. and the Kusers were related, I believe (his wife a Kuser?).

PS: Was in Trenton last Sunday and got lost! Well, tried to use streets that had changed, for sure!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

1915: ODD FELLOWS HOME

I get particularly exasperated when a non resident journalist reports on an event on "Greenwood or Logan Street," "Liberty Avenue," or some other error that points to a writer who is unfamiliar with the Trenton area. The above photos are laid before my visitors. I am digitizing an old 1915 full page newspaper page filled with various roads and highways photographed in the Trenton area. The above photo somehow makes me wonder about the curve in the road you see as you journey down Pennington Road toward the Parkway Avenue intersection. There is no cure in the Google Earth map. However, the terrain has probably been changed over the years.