2011: THANKS TO REGULAR VISITOR AND CONTRIBUTOR MIKE KUZMA FOR THESE PHOTOS

Mike Kuzma is one of my many very interesting visitors. Above is a fascinating set of photos of the old area known as "Jew Town" in the earlier years of Trenton before the demolition of that area to make room for the state buildings. The Trenton Transit bus photo is also interesting.

Mike is a very knowledgeable guy on the city of Trenton of years past which he, and many of us who recall the Trenton when the city teemed with downtown visitors. Mike, you are definitely a candidate to form your own blog centered around South Trenton and environs; your area of expertise. You really don't need access to the graphics as I post on this blog. Your verbal reminiscences provide an interesting insight. You should impart your recollections of Trenton persons, places and things of the past in a free blog of your own; give it a try. And thank you for these photos which will be preserved in our digital "TRENTON, VIEWS OF" folder in the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection.

1920'S: A VISIT TO DOWNTOWN TRENTON circa 1923

I found this exquisite photo of South Broad Street looking north from just beyond East State Street in the Library of Congress web site. The original is very dark and exposure needed tweaking. Thanks to digital image enhancements, I enlarged it, went to the "White's Dental" and other signs and enhanced them to make them as legible as possible, and most importantly, I have a photo of the city as it looked in the 1920's. You almost feel you are standing in the photo and observing the coming and goings of the Ford Model T's and the pedestrians who are happily going about their business. (The building on the right with the mansard roof is the old Trenton City Hall.) The graphic is very large, but once you manipulate it and imagine you are standing on the sidewalk on South Broad Street, I feel sure you will experience the same feeling of standing on the corner watching all the cars and people go by. Enjoy!

1948 Circa 1948 E. State St. Looking West

How I love these old photos of downtown Trenton during her "Golden Years!" I remember Antheil's Shoes, and of course, the "State Street Theater."

1933: Swimming in the Assanpink

This is an intriguing photo. I presume that the financial crunch we are currently experiencing is the reason we haven't heard too much about the conversion of this area to a recreation area. This was a popular "swimming hole" back in the early part of the 20th century. John Scarpati's Auto Salvage and parts store was located on part of this land which is to re-developed at some time in the future. John Scarpati moved his auto business a block or so away to Enterprise Avenue. The area has always been prone to devastating floods. The city of Trenton recently condemned many of the homes lining Mulberry Street.

1910: Once Upon a time on Beatty Street

As the offset printing process was improved upon, it is a simple matter to enhance those faded
and brown with age photos from the newspaper. Those arc-shaped lines you see on the side of the building in the foreground are known as "moire," an unfortunate "screening" problem when tweaking newspaper offset photo.

1873: THE PAPER MILL IN TRENTON

The old paper mill along the Assanpink back in the 19th century provides an idea of how things have changed in Trenton over the past 150 years. Imagine a paper mill of the size shown in that old offset photo operating in the Trenton of the 21st century!

1932: ANOTHER UNIQUE TRENTON PHOTO

ONCE AGAIN FROM THE "TRENTON, VIEWS OF" FOLDER, THIS EXCELLENT PHOTO OF THE TROLLEY TRAVERSING UP NO. WARREN STREET TOWARD THE FIVE POINTS. ON THE LEFT IS THE READING RAILROAD STATION AT TUCKER STREET AND NO. WARREN. OF COURSE THE BATTLE MONUMENT IS IN THE PHOTO.

1924: ANOTHER EXQUISITE TRENTON STREET SCENE

THIS BEAUTIFUL PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE SIDE OF TRENTON'S CITY HALL, AND LOOKING WEST TOWARD THE N.J. BELL TELEPHONE BUILDING AND CENTER CITY IS JUST ANOTHER WONDERFUL PHOTO FROM THE "TRENTON, VIEWS OF.." DIGITAL FOLDER AT THE LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION IN THE HAMILTON LIBRARY. MORE TO COME.

Stockton Street as it was

The Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser published "Glimpses of Trenton Years Ago" every week in the paper. It provided a graphic treasure for 21st century perusal. Some of the photos came from the extensive collection of the Trenton Public Library's "Trentoniana" collection.