In 1895 there was a picnic area called Spring Lake Park, containing swings and a merry-go-round. Eventually the demand for entertainment would mix with the modern transportation of the day and a budding enterprise would be born.
The Trenton Traction company was a trolley operator that ran passenger trolleys in the early 1900`s.
The company charged a nickel to bring riders to a popular destination called the White City amusement park which the Trenton Traction company opened to make the trolley line more profitable. With Coney Island a 3 dollar ride away, and Philly a buck and a quarter, ad`s touted the place as "New Jerseys greatest amusement resort" at the time.
The area that the park was located on was the grounds of the DeCous overlook mansion, housing the trolley line office and headquarters at the time.
There is a lake below the mansions grounds called spring lake. The lake was created by setting up dikes to hold in the water from area freshwater springs and thus creating the lake, which still exists today.
It is in a remarkably clean condition present day and is a popular spot for fishing and nature hikes. The park was called the White City when it first opened because all the amusement buildings were painted white...the park was re-dedicated as the Broad street park in 1957, but today the scant remnants of the amusement attraction are now in the John A. Roebling park located at the end of Sewell street. The park was originally the brainchild of W. Meredith Dickinson and Ferdinand W. Roebling which operated as the Trenton White City company opening in 1907.
It stayed operational for about 20 years or so closing its last rides and arcades in the 1920`s. When in it`s heyday, the White City amusement park had rides of all descriptions. There was a roller coaster, a "chute the chute" ride where participants would sit in a log flume type ride and plummet 200 feet down a concrete ducted embankment and plunge into the Spring Lake below.
The other rides included a merry-go-round, a scenic steam operated railway, the swing ride and motor boats. The lake itself was filled with canoes and rowboats, and doubled as an ice skating destination in the winter months. The park was attended by hundreds to thousands of visitors each day in its peak time of business and was known as Capitol Park back in the day. It had a movie theater, another attraction called Katzenjammer Castle, the Mystic Maze, and also a dance hall where people would dance to the tunes of days now long, long, gone by.(think "charleston") Imagine the smell of freshly roasted peanuts and popcorn, hot dogs and carnival treats of all descriptions the sounds and delights of yesteryears entertainment technology which would have been the chugging of the miniature steam train, the calliope music coming from the merry-go-round and the player pianos keeping the dance hall hopping, all laying down the memories that only a very few still alive today will remember.
With the bulk of the amusement park located upon the high bluffs of the cliffs overlooking the spring lake the park goers would descend down to the promenade along the lakeshore by way of the grand staircase which as miracles would have it, STILL exists to this day. It can be seen in the John A, Roebling memorial park nature preserve, on the left as you arrive at the bottom of the parks driveway. The stairway has seen both better and worse days and it is now in a condition that is an improvement of its former graffiti covered self. It looks as though the park commission gave it a little TLC with a coat of "official" beige-all-over graffiti.
Not much left now but memories of NJ`s past,..
The White City Amusement Park;
The last remnants,.. A grand staircase that millions must have walked up and down...still in pretty good shape for its age and level of exposure to the elements. It can still be fixed up a little more,.who knows?