Trip to Trenton Reflection

I didn’t know much about Trenton growing up. I was never taken to the area, and my parents always told me to avoid it. When I would read the newspaper or watch the news, there was always a murder or crime taking place in Trenton. I have never heard anything positive about Trenton, so when I heard that we would be visiting the city, I was naturally a bit worried. However, after we had spent the day there and I got to speak to locals and local businesses, I didn’t see much different compared to other cities. Granted it was downtown Trenton, but I thought the areas we saw looked very quaint and historic. It had a rustic charm to it, such as seeing the great getting to see the Churches, the brick roads, and the old store fronts. I enjoyed taking pictures and seeing the views, as that left a really good impression on me.

Most of the time we spent was learning about the culture and history of Trenton on the bus ride. It was so interesting to hear about how the city started and grew, but equally sad to see how it has fallen. Hearing about how the hotel in downtown Trenton is constantly mismanaged leading to a decline in business is really sad, as that should be the centerpiece of downtown. I talked to Ray from Capitol Copy about the issue, and he thinks that if the hotel was given proper management, it can be used to benefit all of the businesses in downtown Trenton. We also learned more about how local businesses are not open at night. The primary customers are state workers, and they leave to go home around 5:00 pm. Local businesses would either need to find a new demographic to target at night, or give the state workers a reason to stay. This trip has left me with the impression that Trenton has the potential to thrive, especially if the community comes together.