Monday, January 11, 2010

White City Amusement Park-History

As published in "History of Hamilton Township"

One of the finest amusement centers in this section of the state was once located here.  White City Park!  The scenic railway and the chute-the-chutes down into the sparkling lake were considered among the finest rides of this character in the East.  There was the merry-go-round, bands playing, barkers along the midway ballyhooing their attractions, couples dancing on the spacious dance floor, lovers strolling along the shaded paths-such are the scenes of gaiety revived in the memory of those who enjoyed diversion in this once flourishing amusement park off South Broad Street.  The grounds extended along McClellan Avenue, from Sewell to Buchanon, but nothing remains of the buildings except the old mansion house opposite the entrance at the foot of Harrison Avenue.  The lake is now part of the Robling park which extends into the Great Trenton Marsh.

6 comments:

  1. I was looking into buying that property. At the time I didn't have the cash and the owners wanted cash only. Love the property since the first time I saw it. I'm glad that you are fixing it since it has so much history. I just passed by the house in Feb 2012 and could already see the difference. I found a link that has more information & pictures -http://theweirdusmessageboard.yuku.com/topic/1698/t/White-City-Amusement-Park-Trenton-NJ.html

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    1. Thanks! It took 9 months of interior renovations just to make it liveable. We still have a long project list, but we're getting there. This year we will be focusing more on the outside of the house and the property. So many years of neglect really let the vegitation go wild. It's truly our home now and it's been the hardest and BEST thing we've ever done and we're so happy to call it home!

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  2. I have fond memories of White City Park. Every fall we took a family walk thru the park. My grandmother would tell us stories she'd heard about the amusement park from her older brothers. My grandmother and her brothers used to ice skate there as kids.

    Good luck with the rest of your renovation!

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  3. I spent a lot of time in my childhood playing around the lake and on those stairs we would skate on the lake in the winter and fish there in the summer

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  4. i remember my father talking about walking from cummings ave to the park. as a kid a man named MOKIE lived there he gathered seaweed from this lake and the one duetzville. people that owed pinball,machines owed the mansion, went to school with guy speciale at hamilton, he ran the mile

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