From the 183 Acres Saved we went here the next day. I passed this several weeks ago and thought it looked interesting. I come to find out it is all that is left of a New Jersey Landmark. Garden State Park Racetrack What you find here today is mostly shopping centers & strip malls ! This is the original front entrance gate built in 1942. It can be seen on this old post card in relation to where the track was located. The original grandstands built in 1942 were built out of wood due to steel being used during WWI for more important things. A fire burned that to the ground in 1977. The grandstands were rebuilt in 1985. But this place never regained its prominence and it was demolished in 2004. It must have been nice back in the day. I found it odd that the gates were chained shut when you could get to both sides. (Did you note my bike inside in the first picture ??? ) Then again, this is New Jersey ! ! ! It has a nice slate roof still intact. The old entrance and exit. Found on busy Route 70 in Cherry Hill, NJ. ---------- SJT 582 State Slate Gate Garden State Park Racetrack Gatehouse @
We also stopped at an old tag this day. I am not sure how wide spread these are. Their website only shows 5 locations in South Jersey and around Philadelphia. And they got some nice NEON goin' on here too. Nifty Fifty's We have yet to try one out. :dg ---------- SJT 550 Nifty Fifty's Nifty Fifty's of Clementon @
Back to 2010. After grabbing the Concrete Ship at Sunset Beach I wanted to take the State Tag north. So we took it mid-state to the bowels of politics. Our infamous State Capitol Building. Or New Jersey State House. This view is from the front. Or is it the back? Seems to be some confusion as to which side you are supposed to be looking at it from. Suffice it to say, if you want to go into the Capitol you have to go in the doors seen here. I will make this two posts because those monuments between the bike and the Capitol are quite interesting too. The Great Seal Of The State Of New Jersey. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"New Jersey's state seal[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] was designed by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere.[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It was presented in May of 1777. [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are several state symbols included in the seal. [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The horse head stands for speed and strength, and is the state animal. [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The helmet of a knight's suit of armor faces forward representing [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]sovereignty for a state that governs itself. [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Below the helmet is a shield with three plows on it. The plows show the [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]importance of agriculture to the state's economic power.[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The female figures pictured in the state seal are Liberty on the left, carrying the liberty cap on her staff. The liberty cap was worn as a symbol of rebellion by patriots in the colonies. Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain is on the right. She holds a cornucopia filled with harvested produce, symbolizing abundance. Below it all is a banner with the state's motto, "Liberty and Prosperity".[/FONT] 1776 is when New Jersey adopted its first State Constitution. You never really pay much attention to these things. But symbolism from out founding fathers shows a good view of what they considered important. Located in the sidewalk as you go into the Capitol. Built in 1792 it is the second oldest State House in continuous use (Maryland's is the oldest.). I like seeing things from different angles from the way they are normally viewed. This gives a sense of depth to the building and shows that those balconies are actually usable. The State Seal on the front facade in 3D. This outline in the sidewalk is located just to the left of the front door, and I was under the impression that this was the location of the necessary used by early legislatures. (Necessary, Privy, Outhouse, WC, Toilet, The Throne, Water Closet, Bathroom, Restroom, Outbuilding, Latrine, Lavatory, Comfort Station, Little Boys Room, Etc.) The sign. And a better view and typed version of the text here. This is the sign I thought said the privy was here. Now it is inside ! Hmmmmmmmmm ! What did he really mean by that ? As you walk around the side I never expected to see the dome stuffed in the middle of all this mess. Needless to say, the building has been added onto over the years until about 1911. That is why it is hard to tell what is the back and what is the front. Some stained glass windows on the lower sides of the dome. A view from the back left of the building. I found the roof vents interesting. And large too ! An aerial view of the current layout of our beautiful Capitol Building. A better picture and a typed out version of the text here. New Jersey State House by Wikipedia. New Jersey Legislature website with a partial picture of the inside of the dome. A picture looking up into the dome. I have no idea if the dome is real gold, or if it is just painted to look like we are rich ! ! ! ---------- 606 The Capitol Capitol Building of NJ @
So you come down this alley. Park in front of the Police station. And cautiously walk around and take pictures. While looking at the pictures of the Capital Building I saw the same angle as my tag shot, and none of this was here. I was pretty sure these were a more recent addition. And a nice one at that. Dedicated on November 11, 2008. I thought I had a picture of the front of this nice memorial park, but it appears I do not. In the center is a cupola with Lady Victory inside. The soldier and helmet/rifle memorials are behind her (as can be seen in her first picture above). Beautiful quote above. So sad it had to be made of course. To each side of the park are these murals of WWII depictions. Ahhhhh !!!! I did find some information on this park finally. New Jersey Veteran Journal Turns out this nice memorial is "New Jersey's World War II Memorial" at "Veterans Park". A very nice YouTube video showing some of New Jersey's finest citizens.
On our way to the Capitol we stopped at a couple of places. And we stopped at quite a few afterwards too. This was our first stop. These steps were part of a big amusement park setting here by a nice lake. "At the time". It doesn't look bad when you pull up to the park. There is nothing left of the amusement park that was here except for those stairs. Well, I guess that mansion on the hill was from then too. The place was called White City Amusement Park. Of which it looks like there was a "chain" of them all over the United States. The mansion looks pretty rough today. And it looks like it was made into apartments. A picture from another angle and one from inside. They call it the White City Overlook Mansion. Opened in 1907 the White City name apparently came from the fact that all of the buildings and such were painted white. Lasting about 20 years, it was evidently quite the place to be at the time. The park itself was later changed to Broad Street Park in 1957. And don't forget the park rules. You know, no guns, no vandalism, no off-road motorcycles, no alcohol, no hunting, no dumping, no fun ! I found the stairs interesting. The lake is quite attractive. Willow trees, lily pads, power line towers, power plants, interstates. :eek1 At least they got the "MARSH" part right. It is a rather interesting place to visit. Some nice trails and wildlife. Just get out before dark ! ! ! :huh John A. Roebling Park. Of all places to find information on this place I found it on WeirdNJ. Including some old pictures of the place when it was an amusement park (some great stuff there). ---------- 20 John Roebling Memorial Park John A. Roebling Park @
History Lesson. Who has ever heard of the Old Barracks in Trenton, NJ? Of course you have. It was the turning point of the American Revolution ! In view of the Capitol Building, which is behind it. You can see the gold dome to the right in the first picture. There are all kinds of monuments on the grounds. That one is called the "Spirit of Justice" I had never heard of the Sons of The American Revolution (SAR). You always hear about the Daughters of The American Revolutin (DAR). This nice little medallion was on here too. And a grandson/granddaughter of a famous Elm Tree was growing here too. Well, it had been growing there, but apparently did not make it and was replaced with a Dogwood Tree. Text of the marker here. A lot more history here than just from that one night's fight. What's with that flag? The Grand Union Flag- 1775: also known as the Continental flag, it is the first true U. S. Flag. It combined the British Union Jack and the thirteen stripes signifying the Colonial unity. The thirteen alternating red & white stripes represented the original colonies. The use of the British Union in the upper corner indicated a continued loyalty, as Americans then saw it, to the government against which they fought. Found that here, of all place, on a Sons of the American Revolution website ! :huh Here is the website for the Old Barracks of Trenton, NJ. A brief writing on the Battle of Trenton. Looking at these fine buildings you would never realize the history that went on here even after the Revolutionary War. As I mentioned, the Capitol Building is behind this, looking at it from the angle of the first picture. When the Capitol was built they put a road through here. And to do so they took out the center section and left the left and right wings making them two separate buildings on either side of the street. Those were eventually bought and the grounds restored to what it would have looked like in the earlier 1700's. Read about it here under the Post-Revolution section. Here are some nicely done pictures, inside and out, on a nicely done website. You may have noticed that some of my pictures have trees with leaves, and some trees without leaves. The green ones were taken in April, and the others were taken just over a month before. Both trips made on the bike though ! Did you also note the cobble stone street in the first picture? That stuff is a little tough to ride on. I sure would not want to do it when it is wet ! ! ! ---------- 586 Old Barracks Old Barracks @
I have lived in New Jersey for most of my cognisant life and never knew this was here. The Trenton Battle Monument. I mean look, this thing is huge. Then again I never went (nor wanted to) go riding through down town Trenton before (even in a car !!!!!!!!). At least until I got a motorcycle ! ! ! All kinds of interesting stuff on this monument. Looks like someone stole his stick ! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!! ..... New Jersey !!! ................. State Capitol !!!!!!!!!!! Even the statues don't have a chance ! Crossing the Delaware River. The Battle. The Victory / Surrender. You could even go inside this thing and take an elevator to that platform. I do believe that is General George Washington up there looking for his horse. I like the quote on the door from the British point of view. Its current location is interesting. Just be careful where you walk. There use to be a street light here next to the curb. :eek1 It is a busy intersection on the back side of the monument. There were 5 streets that came together at this point. That is why the Colonial Army chose this location to place some artillery. On our day some fella was walking, loitering, across the street and talking to himself, quite loudly, but was not making any sense to me. He finally left and I got my far away pictures and we got out of there. In other words, the first picture here was the last one taken. I found the old streets interesting. Amongst the "new" streets. It is a nice little park though. This looks back from the monument towards the Delaware River and the Capitol Building. Ironically this monument was not built until 1891-93. That would explain the elevator part anyway ! Some more pictures and text on the plaques here, including some pictures from the platform up top. New Jersey's scant information. A nice history by Wikipedia. ---------- 65 Trenton Battle Monument Trenton Battle Monument @
These next three posts pretty much go together because of the common sculpture theme. This on is at Rat's Restaurant which is apparently on the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. Read "The Name" near the bottom of that link to find out where the name Rat's came from. This is the only sculpture I have a picture of the plaque on. It has a very nice setting. This is across the street from the driveway. This sculpture is in the parking lot. I call it "Blue Blob Thingy" ! With a close up in case you wanted to see what a Blue Blob Thingy looks like up close. Further down the driveway is the beginning of the building. The people on the left are real, the ones on the right are not ! Even the front door to the restaurant is interesting. Some one has been very creative in this area. I assume that more than one person is responsible for all of the sculptures you see around here. ---------- 64 Rats Restaurant Rat's Restaurnat & Grounds for Sculpture @
Heading down Sculpture Way, (where else), where this is located. You will see all kinds of neat stuff. "Black Five Legged Spider" "Yellow Circle With 1/4 Spheres" Those sculptures are on the grounds of "Grounds for Sculpture". Yes, that is the name of the place. Looks like there is some neat stuff in there too, but you have to pay to get in there. They post over 240 sculptures in the park area. Information on Wikipedia. Here is a look-up of images from this place. Here is the free stuff. "The White Lanky Knight" "Red Sticks" "Orange Disk Menagerie" "Learning To Ride" Yes, that is a sculpture. "Yellow Loops" Coming out of Rat's Restaurant you head north on Sculpture Way, Make a right onto E. State Street, The next left onto Klockner Road. This stuff is all along the way, and much more. You would have to walk this to get some good pictures of the other stuff. There is no place to pull over and get pictures for most of the sculptures along these roads. Not even on a bike.
At the end of Klockner Road is the Hamilton Train Station Complex. I know, exciting isn't it ? They have sculptures here too. And this on the way out. There was some other stuff in here too, but there was too many cars to be riding around and stopping to take pictures. ---------- 218 Hamilton Transit Center Hamilton Transit Complex Train Station @
On the way out of Trenton we hit this nice old building. This is the Kuser Farm Mansion in Hamilton, NJ. Some great old architecture and gingerbread on this building. Even the outbuildings looked interesting. Today this is a park with ball fields and walking and riding trails. A nice set up to go along with some history. Kuser Farm was apparently a well to do place for the up and comers and those who already got there ! The Kuser family also owned the Mercer Motor Car Company. What? Never heard of a Mercer Motor Car ? ? ? Well, I just happen to have a picture of one ! Built from 1909 to 1925, even the early cars could reach 80 MPH. Mercer Motor Car history. More history and pictures of several other models here on Wikipedia. ---------- 245 Kuser Farm Mansion Kuser Farm Mansion @
Now look at the fine architecture on this building ! OK, this was a Harley-Davidson dealer. Trenton World Class Harley-Davidson is no longer in business. Sad that so many motorcycle dealers have gone out of business within the past few years. Times are tough. I thought I saw someone inside. But it must just be me ! ! ! ---------- 581 was World Class HD World Class Harley-Davidson @
Next stop. What's that you say? Don't tell me you have never been in a police station before ? ? ? Just don't go speeding though this complex. In fact, don't go through here unless you have to ! ! ! New Jersey State Police, Troop C It is just so sad to see memorials like this. We just want to thank those who serve us daily without any acknowledgement. For one day they may just give their lives for ours. ---------- SJT 183 NJSP Troop C New Jersey State Police, Troop C @
New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7A Toll Booth. Yup, you read that right ! I would have gone up further but there was a sign saying for Employees Only. I should have taken a picture of that sign ! But I only took two pictures and got out of there ! ! ! ---------- SJT 70 195 exit 7A NJTP Exit 7A Toll Booth @
Does this car make me look fat ? I mean look, .......... my bike it bigger than that ! :eek1 I don't even think I could fit in there. Unless maybe you opened the sun roof ! What can I say, I am a giant among miniatures ! I found this car ironic under the circumstances. Pretty sure that is an Eldorado. What a waste, there aren't even any dirt roads in this area ! I believe this is an old Fiat. Located at Body by Mule' ---------- SJT 149 Body By Mule Body by Mule' @
Yeah, all is OK here in south central Jersey. I have just not had time to get any posts done lately. We had the earthquake, not bad at all here of course, just about a week before the Hurricane hit. Irene's eye actually made landfall not too far from us. About 40 miles or so. But fortunately she had downgraded and all we got was a lot of rain and not much wind. We have had far worse thunderstorms than that. Those poor people in New England got hit pretty bad. All that water and not much place for it to go but down through the valleys and washing everything out in it's path. We don't have no valleys down here ! More pics soon. I have been riding and tagging so I have even more to catch up on ! ! !
I did not realize we had stopped at so many places on this one day. The next stop was Bonacci Field. Who knew ? Right here in good ole NJ ! I tried getting creative and take a picture of a game being played behind the green monster ! History of Babe Ruth Baseball. Some fellas who played back in the day. ---------- SJT 102 Bonacci Field Bonacci Field @
The one person who complains about my photoshop prowess tagged this. So naturally !!!!!!!!! I was able to get my bike in there TWICE !!! ---------- SJT 69 Agway Silos Agway Silos @
Almost across the street from the Agway Silos. Some nice paintings around this building. I have no idea why they have Tucans painted on the side of an Irish Pub. I am pretty sure there are none of those in Ireland ! As I went out back to turn around I saw this. And naturally, naturally ! I had to stop and take a picture. I assume it is used for a parade float ! Or a portable boxing ring. I am not sure which. Driven by a really short person ! OK, the writing on the side says it is a parade float. Driven by a really short person ! Dublin Square Restaurants & Bars. The link for this particular building. Apparently in the process of changing their name to Dúbh Linn, the original Irish spelling of Dublin. ---------- SJT 184 Dublin Square Dublin Square Pub @