May 2002
Trenton celebrates Cadwalader Park 100-year
anniversary
By
Joe Emanski
May
is a fine time for an outdoor party. That's what Trenton Mayor
Doug Palmer and Trenton's director of the Department of Recreation,
Natural Resources and Culture, Francis E. Blanco, are surely thinking
as the city prepares for the hundredth anniversary celebration
for Cadwalader Park that will take place from May 2 to May 5.
Thursday, May 2 will feature an evening concert and fireworks
display from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 will be the "Cadwalader
Park Memorabilia Open" at Ellarslie, the Trenton City Museum.
Memorabilia on hand for the event will include photographs of
the park from every period of its history, artwork, commemorative
plates, and other artifacts that celebrate the park's role as
a Trenton landmark.
Saturday, May 4 marks the "May Day Celebration," kicking
off with a parade at 11 a.m. and running through 6 p.m. On Sunday,
May 5, the festivities culminate with "Sunday Afternoon in
Cadwalader Park," a community outing that is being described
as a "citywide picnic."
At the heart of all the weekend's activities is the park, which
has received renewed attention recently from those who would like
to see it once again become a picture of idyllic life in the midst
of a bustling city.
"It's
a great part of the renaissance in the city," says Ms. Blanco.
"We can form the basis of the next 100 years. Hopefully we
can restore the park to its original grandeur and it can serve
as a focal point for families, because that's what it's always
been."
In 1998 the city commissioned a restoration master plan. Historians,
landscape historians, architects, landscape architects and civil
engineers joined the advisory committee to determine what needs
to be done and what funds would be necessary to restore the park's
roadways, tree canopy, buildings and grounds into something that
famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted would be proud
of.
"At
the turn of the century, people wanted to see public parks as
a retreat from city industrial life," says Randy Baum, landscape
architect for the City of Trenton. Trenton's residents were no
different, and after studying the available parcels of land within
Trenton's boundaries, the city agreed to purchase the property
that is known today as Cadwalader Park, which included Ellarslie
Mansion.
They
then turned to Mr. Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York
City among many other public spaces, designed Cadwalader Park
as a place for locals to take a carriage ride or a walk and escape
from the rigors of nineteenth century life. It stands as his only
endeavor in the State of New Jersey.
The restoration committee's recommendations call for $20 million
in funds to revitalize Cadwalader Park, and the city is aggressively
seeking funding from a variety of sources, federal, state and
local, public and private. In the meantime, a successful anniversary
celebration should go a long way toward reminding Trenton's residents
why Cadwalader Park was built in the first place.
"The
park has many advocates, and that's always been. But what I think
this event will do is bring it to the light for people who have
not seen the park and who don't know its history," says Ms.
Blanco, who anticipates that as many as 2,000 people may visit
the park during the celebration.
The concerts planned for Thursday, May 2 mark a return to a Cadwalader
tradition dating to the 1920s, when plays and music events were
a staple of the park. For the hundredth anniversary there will
be three stages around the park featuring different types of music
from jazz to rhythm and blues.
The
May 4 May Day celebration is also a Cadwalader tradition and one
that historically has been geared mostly toward kids. The memorabilia
exhibit will be open Friday through Sunday and parts of the exhibit
will remain open afterward.
The Sunday, May 5 afternoon in the park has attracted many of
the city's civic associations and church groups, each of whom
will have a designated area of the park. However, there is no
doubt that members of all groups will mingle and wander the grounds,
meeting people they know and those they don't, sharing sunshine,
food and fun on a fine day in May.
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All
events are free and open to the public; however, nominal charges
may be required for certain individual activities and for food
and beverages. All events are family oriented.
