January
2003
DOWNTOWN
NEWS
William Trent House closed for restorations
The William Trent House Museum began its next phase
of restoration work December 16, 2002. Expected to last through
at least June 2003, the renovations will keep the museum closed
to tours until they are completed. The museum will continue to
offer weekend children's activities in the newly renovated visitor's
service center and will continue to offer programs to schools,
both at the Trent House Visitor Services Center and off site.
The $1.4 million restoration project is funded by the City of
Trenton, the New Jersey Historic Trust and Urban Initiative grant
and Community Development Block Grant funds. The City began site
improvements in fall 2001.
The restoration will bring about some changes for Trenton House
and its visitor services. Among them will be the expansion into
new program space in what was once a carriage house. The Trent
House itself will have a new look that will feature a new interior
color scheme and furnishings appropriate to the 1719 period. Accompanying
the new Trent House look will be a new tour incorporating new
research about William Trent, his family and slaves, funded in
part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, Department of State.
The grounds will also feature a new William Trent-era kitchen
garden.
The Trent House is located at 15 Market Street,
across from the Justice Complex.
Trenton schools win American Planning Association
award
The City of Trenton and the Trenton Board of Education
received a 2002 American Planning Association-New Jersey award
for a master plan that calls for rebuilding four schools and improving
the surrounding neighborhoods,
Mayor Doug Palmer announced last month.
As part of the $317 million school construction project stemming
from the Abbott v. Burke school-funding case, the award-winning
"Community-based Schools Master Plan" encompasses four
school sites: Monument, Roebling, Jefferson-Martin Luther King,
Jr., and the Daylight-Twilight alternative high school, designed
to be integrated with the downtown campus of Mercer County Community
College.
"Our plan is based on a careful analysis of neighborhood
needs and many community meetings with residents, parents, students
and teachers," Mayor Palmer said. "The plan aims to
serve children while anchoring neighborhoods, and encourages comprehensive
development in each neighborhood surrounding a school."
The award-winning plan is based on Strickland's "City of
Learning" concept. Trenton's plan makes use of the city's
resources, including the state capital, libraries, museums, parks,
educational institutions, vacant or underutilized buildings and
even the Delaware River for science study.
"Rather than having schools that shut their doors in the
afternoon, we envision multi-use buildings that offer evening
programs, as part of 'communities of learning' that are central
to the neighborhood," added Palmer.
Leadership Trenton's charter class graduates
in ceremony
The first class of 35 Leadership Trenton fellows
graduated on December 12, 2002 and welcomed 41 fellows from the
incoming Class of 2003, who will be honored for their commitment
to participate in the yearlong program. The recognition dinner
was held at the Lafayette Yard Marriott Conference Hotel.
Leadership Trenton is a program to develop a network
of emerging civic leaders. Fellows participate in series of monthly
seminars on issues critical to the future of the Trenton region.
The seminars provide information, increase knowledge and stimulate
discussion of critical public policy issues and their impact on
the city and the region.
Leadership Trenton is a collaboration of Thomas
Edison State College, the John S. Watson Institute for Public
Policy and the Leadership New Jersey Graduate Organization, a
program of the Partnership for New Jersey. Leadership New Jersey
is a statewide leadership program that focuses on public policy
issues critical to the state of New Jersey.
"Having participated in many leadership forums,
including the Kellogg Foundation Leadership Initiative, I am delighted
to have Leadership Trenton as a program of the College,"
said Dr. George A. Pruitt, president of Thomas Edison State College.
"I know this charter class will do extraordinary things with
their initiative, talent and drive to make Trenton a better place
to live and work. I welcome the Class of 2003. Leadership Trenton
will be a great experience for this new class, and their participation
will contribute in enormous ways to the future of this city."
New Jersey residents graduating from the Leadership
Trenton charter class are Ana Berdecia of Ewing; Paula Bethea
of Trenton; David G. Brown of Bordentown; Edward Butler of Trenton;
James Carlucci of Trenton; Marsha Chery-Gordon of Franklin Park;
Daniel Dodson of Trenton; Cheri Durst of West Trenton; DuEwa Edwards
of Trenton; Deborah Giddens-Green of Palmyra; Jennifer Godoski
of West Trenton; Edelmiro Gonzalez of New Egypt; Brian Greenberg
of Princeton; James Griswold of Ewing; James Halliday of Trenton;
John Harmon of Trenton; Roberto Hernandez of Trenton; Pamela Sims
Jones of Trenton; Joseph Juniak of Hamilton Square; Jermaine Kamau
of Trenton; Lisa Kasabach of Trenton; Jane Carol Malloy of Trenton;
Thomas Moore of Burlington; Maxine Palms of Trenton; Roland Pott
of Trenton; Maritza Isaura Raimundi of Trenton; Marvin B. Ross
of Lawrenceville; Mark Scorsolini of Hamilton; Milt Sharp of Bordentown;
Raissa Walker of Trenton; Algernon Ward of Trenton; Dwight Wilson
of Trenton; and Elizabeth Yull of Trenton. Pennsylvania residents
graduating are Oona Augusta Jackson of Yardley and Robert Rahl
of Washington Crossing.
New Jersey residents participating in Leadership
Trenton 2003 are June Ballinger of Trenton; Monifa Banks Harrison
of Trenton; Penny Britt of Voorhees, Robert Crusen of Allentown;
Ronald Diggs of Trenton; Cruz Feliciano of Trenton; Michael Flaherty
of Yardville; Tyrone A. Gaskins of Trenton; Barry Haber of Matawan;
John D. S. Hatch of Trenton; Bernadette Jones of Trenton; Mary
Lou Killian of Trenton; Michelle M. Kim of Trenton; Laura F. Krieger
of Princeton; Jeffrey Lanigan of Bordentown; Sharon Larmore of
Mt. Holly; Charles Latini, Jr., of Trenton; Amy Littles of Trenton;
Patricia Maggio of Trenton; Michael McFarland of Robbinsville;
Darlene McKnight of Trenton; John P. McManimon of Trenton; Donald
Meisel of Lawrenceville; Alba Mota of Jamesburg; Thomas Murray
of Trenton; Jon Nelson of Trenton; Daniel W. Noonan of Trenton;
Marion Ray of Trenton; Susan Ruckman of Hamilton; Tia Sanders
of Trenton; Michael Scanlon of Ewing; Helen M. Shannon of Trenton;
Ruth Anne Thomas of Trenton; Amie Thornton of Trenton; William
P. Velez of Lawrenceville; Alysia Welch of Trenton; Doris Williams
of Trenton; Kevin Williams of Trenton; Judy Winkler of Trenton;
Peter C. Wise of Cranbury and Linda Wyatt-Simpson of Trenton.
You can't stop Cher…as if you'd want to
The date of Cher's visit to Trenton was pushed
back from April 2003 to June 2, 2003, but that doesn't mean that
one of pop's most enduring acts isn't anxiously awaited here in
Trenton. Tickets for the June show at the Sovereign Bank Arena
went on sale in December and are already sold out.
Thus far, "Living Proof-the Farewell Tour" has played
in over 50 markets and reached an audience of over one half million
Cher fans in the US. The extravaganza, dubbed by the diva herself
as "The Cher-ist Show on Earth," includes songs spanning
four decades as well as music from her recent album, Living Proof.
The show also includes a small army of dancers and several video
clips highlighting the greatest moments of her TV, film and music
career. Cher's many costumes are designed by her long time collaborator
Bob Mackie.
The show is being billed as Cher's final appearances on the live
stage. Apparently Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion's "retirements"
have not deterred anyone from believing it.
Old Mill Hill Society receives grant from N.J.
Historical Commission
The Old Mill Hill Society (OMHS), the civic and
preservation organization serving the Mill Hill Historic District
in Trenton, has been awarded an New Jersey Historical Commission
Grant in the amount of $17,980 to conduct research on the Eagle
Cotton Factory. This mill, now gone, once stood on the banks of
the Assunpink Creek west of South Broad Street, across from what
is now Mill Hill Park. The research on this early Trenton industrial
site will be conducted for the OMHS by Hunter Research, Inc.,
a local cultural-resource consulting firm.
The impetus for the Eagle Cotton Factory grant was research being
conducted for a soon-to-be completed study of the area along the
banks of the Assunpink between South Warren and South Montgomery
Streets. This study, funded by a 2002 NJ Historical Commission
Grant to the OMHS, is also being prepared by Hunter Research.
The Eagle Cotton Factory research will provide insight
into the beginning of Trenton's rise to an industrial powerhouse
and further our understanding of an area where key events in local,
and even national, history took place. This site is adjacent to
the location of the first European settlement in Trenton, Stacy's
Mill, built in 1679, and it was from these banks that George Washington
withstood a British assault during the Second Battle of Trenton
in 1777. The end products of the Eagle Cotton Factory research
will include information to be posted on the OMHS website (www.oldmillhillsociety.org)
and a presentation of findings to the general public by Hunter
staff.
These historical studies are part of a broader effort
by local residents to enhance understanding and use of the natural
and historic resources present in the area. Most Mill Hill Park
users and pedestrians are unaware of the significant events that
took place here. As a result of the research funded by these grants,
groups such as the Old Mill Hill Society and the newly formed
Friends of Mill Hill Park will have the information necessary
to advocate for improvements in the park area.
