A new version of a Trenton icon became part of the capital city’s visual landscape with the January unveiling of the arch-like sign designating the grounds of the Capital City Farm — a collaborative project developed by the D&R Greenway Land Trust, Mercer County, the City of Trenton, Isles Inc., the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Escher Street SRO, the East Trenton Collaborative, and the Rescue Mission of Trenton.
The sign is based on the city’s 1911 bridge bearing the slogan “Trenton Makes World Takes” — the winner of a Trenton Chamber of Commerce contest to encapsulate Trenton’s early 20th century industrial might.
The newly installed replication bridges the 105 years between then and now — reflecting both Trenton’s uneven wellbeing and new efforts.
“Trenton is a city with a compelling historic, architectural, and cultural narrative that has influenced the American experience,” says Trenton Mayor Eric E. Jackson in a statement about the city farm sign. “We are proud of that undeniable impact, and this repurposed sign constructed of aluminum and steel illustrates our commitment to our community and to any endeavors, such as this amazing Capital City Farm project, that we undertake together.”
The “repurpose” reference — a new euphemism for recycle — fits both the sign and the farm’s ground.
Like the slogan-bearing span across the Delaware River, the bridge-inspired sign caused community excitement when originally unveiled in Cadwalader Park in 2012.
That was when Mayor Tony Mack’s administration commissioned the sign as an entrance arch to the historic park designed by the renowned American landscape designer Frederick Law Olmstead.
It was also when the city landmarks commission noted that the $17,000 sign was not approved and needed to be removed, causing more embarrassment for the notoriously troubled Mack administration and putting the sign on the cover of the New York Times.
A literal sign of the times, the ribbed metal structure welcoming people to Cadwalader Park and touting — in gold letters — “Mayor Tony F. Mack” was put out of sight and mind and into storage by its designer and fabricator, Trenton sign maker George Zienowicz.
Since then there has been a lot of metaphorical water under the bridge, including the Mack administration ending with the mayor’s removal and imprisonment.
At the same time, the Urban Farm’s appearance on a 2.3-acre lot next to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) on Escher Street is designed to be a metaphor of its own: regrowth.
D&R Greenway vice president Jay Watson — a former deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and proponent of green spaces in Trenton — said in a 2015 Downtowner interview the property located in the city’s Coalport Section formerly belonged to Norma Practico, a member of a prominent Trenton-area family of lawyers, realtors, and jewelers. “The property has been vacant for many years. It was part of a railroad siding for Conrail where cars pulled off the main track,” said Watson.
The transformation from brownfield to farm field began when Hopewell resident and TASK volunteer Kate Mitnick saw the potential of transforming the derelict lot into a productive and attractive space and brought it to the attention of the D&R Greenway — which has a distinguished record of land preservation and ecological restoration.
“We jumped on the opportunity to preserve the site. We immediately reached out to potential partners, asking if there was interest in joining a preservation effort,” says Watson.
Mercer County provided the $262,500 acquisition funds from the county’s Open Space Program with the city obtaining the property in partnership with the D&R Greenway.
In 2015 the site underwent remediation, was seeded, and was fitted with a small demonstration garden, electric and water connections, a 100-foot greenhouse, a 1,500-gallon rain barrel to repurpose runoff from the neighboring Soup Kitchen’s roof, and 500 cubic yards of topsoil.
Organizers say in 2016 “the farm will produce 9,000 pounds of produce or more to be distributed affordably to Trenton customers. Plans for produce distribution and community engagement for 2016 are underway.”
The current phase of work was made possible by a Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Grant provided through the East Trenton Collaborative, a nonprofit neighborhood redevelopment organization. “We are lucky to have the opportunity to put this iconic symbol in this innovative space,” said Watson about this new sign of new times.
For more information on the Capital City Farm, visit drgreenway.org/capitalcityfarm.html.
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