Harrison Avenue of Yesteryear

This is the view experienced by the patrons of Spring Lake and White City Parks as they alighted from the trolley on South Broad Street beginning in 1893 for the walk down Harrison Avenue to the park entrance seen in the distance.  The White City Hotel, sometimes simply referred to as the Park Hotel, is seen on the left.

1930: Demise of White City Hotel

Trenton Times Sunday Advertiser, September 28, 1930
The following is an excerpt from John J. Cleary's Trenton in the Bygone Days column:

Hamilton Township Public Library Local History Collection

Mr. Cleary has given information as to what happened to the hotel.  The  advertisement below, published in the Trenton Evening Times, August 16, 1930, attests to the demolition of the hotel

 

 A gasoline station occupied the the site for many years following the destruction of the hotel.  Today the site is a municipal parking lot for shoppers.  Not mentioned in Mr. Cleary's column is Benjamin Wagman who also was a proprietor of the hotel for a period of time, 

1907: Hotel for BSP

Trenton Evening Times, December 31, 1907

 The hotel was up and operational on the corner of South Broad and Harrison Streets by 1910.  Charles Fury mentioned in the article was the hotel manager.

1913: White City Hotel

Hamilton Township Public Library Local History Collection

Scuttlebutt is that the hotel was not of good reputation, thus, the revocation of its license. The time needed to get the hotel operational mentioned in the last paragraph may have had something to do with its demise. since we don't hear of the hotel after this time. This is speculation and only speculation.