Capitol Rebuild: Trenton
Can Trenton still make? And does the world still care to take?
You’re the capital of the most densely populated state in the country. A county seat. A direct commuter rail ride to both the largest and sixth-largest cities in America. Fifteen minutes from the nation’s top-ranked university that excels in economics, math, computer engineering, and chemical engineering.
You were once the nation’s capital. You invented the pork roll.
Clearly… you’re a top ten capital city, right?
Right?
Time to roll up our sleeves and dig into Trenton.
Editor’s Note: I blew it last week by providing the wrong link to Olympia Strong: A Roadmap to Economic Opportunities. I hope everyone can take a look at the good work their team developed with this document.
How Did the Capitol End Up There?
For those of us haven’t cracked open the Wikipedia page on the Revolutionary War lately, here’s a quick refresher on Trenton’s role as a turning point in the fight for American independence. In December 1776, the Continental Army was in retreat and the morale of the troops was in the gutter, both of which gave the British all the momentum. Then, in a daring move the day after Christmas, ole George Washington crossed his troops over the Delaware River and launched a surprise attack on German soldiers (fighting for the British) that were occupying Trenton. It was a desperately needed American victory that fired up the troops for the rest of the war. Trenton wasn’t just a battlefield; it became a symbol of American resilience and comeback grit.
After the war, the New Jersey legislature bounced around between towns like Burlington and Perth Amboy. As state’s population grew, it needed a permanent capital and Trenton’s central location, river access, and commercial growth made it the obvious choice. In 1790, Trenton was officially named the state capital.
Construction on the New Jersey State House began in 1792. What started as a modest legislative building has expanded and evolved over centuries, still housing the state legislature today. The iconic dome, which is visible from the Delaware River, was added in 1845 during a major renovation, becoming one of Trenton’s most recognizable landmarks.
And here’s the “what if”…. in the years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Confederation Congress bounced between temporary capitals as the leader of the US debated a permanent home. Philadelphia was the default — but Southern states weren’t thrilled about trekking north all the time for meetings. So a compromise was floated - two capitals with one in the south in Washington, D.C. and one in the north in Trenton!
In November 1784, Congress actually met in Trenton for just over a month, considering it as a permanent seat of government. But ultimately, the political winds blew south, and Washington, D.C. became the sole capital of the United States. Trenton missed the designation… but not by much.
The Arc
This is a new section that looks at the historical population and focuses on a small era that the arc of the city.
Like many cities, Trenton saw uprisings in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People often point to those events as the moment things went downhill for those cities. But it’s much more nuanced than that.
The riot wasn’t the cause of Trenton’s decline. It was a symptom — the visible result of decades of economic erosion due to deindustrialization (hat tip to Josh McManus for elevating this timeline to me in reference to Detroit).
Trenton’s population exploded in the second half of the 19th century, growing from 6,400 people in 1850 to over 73,000 by the turn of the century. Trenton wasn’t just a state capital — it was a manufacturing powerhouse. Steel, rubber, and pottery drove its economy and shaped its neighborhoods. Immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Poland, found stable union jobs and built generational wealth.
But that growth started tapering off by 1910. The population plateaued - kept on life support by the manufacturing surge due to WWII, and by the 1950s, the industrial jobs that powered Trenton were disappearing rapidly. National firms bought up local businesses, cut payroll, and shifted production to cheaper cities. Trenton had no backup plan. Unlike New York or Philadelphia, it didn’t pivot to services, tech, or finance.
Trenton’s newest and most vulnerable residents at this time were Black families and individuals who had moved to Trenton during the Great Migration for wartime jobs. Those opportunities were short-lived as the economic floor was falling out when they arrived. By the 1960s, many were now stuck in Trenton: locked out of the suburbs by redlining, locked out of good jobs by discrimination, and locked into neighborhoods suffering from disinvestment and neglect.
So by 1968, when the spark hit — it hit dry ground that revealed the economic damage that had been done over the last fifty years.
My Experiences with Trenton
Unfortunately, fairly limited. I have been to the Trenton Transit Center numerous times, but outside of doing a quick walk outside, I haven’t spent much time at all in Trenton. My view of Trenton as a kid growing up in the Philly suburbs was that it was “New Jersey’s version of Harrisburg” because I would only hear about Trenton news in the framing of state politics.
What’s Working
Civic Infrastructure
Trenton is blessed with a number of groups doing the hard work of city building to fill in the gaps of where government should be leading. Organizations like the Trenton Health Team, Isles Inc., and Greater Trenton have been building capacity in housing, health, education, and economic development to keep Trenton moving forward. They fill critical gaps in service delivery, connect residents to resources, and help neighborhoods stabilize and grow. This is a great example of building civic infrastructure from the ground up.
Place
If there is ever a Capitol Rebuild spin-off focused solely on transit centers, Trenton will end up near the top. You can ride a train directly from the Trenton Transit Center to 50 (!!) other stations in the tri-state area and Amtrak will connect you from Boston to Newport News. It’s one of the most connected cities under 100,000 people in America. The challenge is what happens outside the station. U.S. Route 1 cuts off downtown from the transit hub, making it surprisingly hard for someone to get off the train and experience the city.
Arts and Culture
The arts community in Trenton isn’t propped up by big budgets or national foundations, but it does have local creativity, hustle, and staying power led by a number of organizations.
Artworks Trenton anchors Trenton’s arts scene, with year-round programming and the amazing Art All Night festival that draws thousands of people to participate.
The Passage Theatre Company is a fantastic local theater that puts on performances and programming that reflect the spirit of the people of Trenton.
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie keeps the city’s artistic and cultural history alive with exhibitions that connect past and present.
Across Trenton, murals and public art projects are reclaiming neglected spaces and turning them into sources of pride. Trenton’s arts scene shows what the city can be in the future.
What’s Not Working
It’s Stuck in the Cycle of Distrust
From LA Parker’s (more on him later) editorial, “It’s difficult to love the current Trenton”:
Currently, Trenton lists as a dirty, corrupt, violent place being guided by unscrupulous leaders who tell little white lies without restraint, distort reality, take more photos than Hollywood starlets, misrepresent facts, and have managed to turn good, hard truth into a malleable substance.
Lucky for them, most residents could not care less about what politicians promise and never deliver on. Listen, if Trenton fails to assure street sweepers arrive on specified days then all bets are off regarding government providing safety, excellence in education, leadership, the good life.
Sure, many enjoy wonderful moments but for the most part, those happy days parallel eating ice cream cones on The Titanic. Trenton enjoys many natural resources, parks, waterways, and history that many smaller cities would consider advantageous to growth.
This capital city rarely produces sustained energy, the kind that equates to advancement. Many changes and initiatives require grassroot efforts but if those arteries die, and no worthy gardeners (members of city council) appear to cultivate change, then expect barren conditions.
Trust between a city’s leaders and its residents is pretty much table stakes for a functioning city. The municipal government version of walking and chewing gum is keeping basic services running while also pursuing new ideas that improve people’s lives.
But when trust breaks down on the basics, residents stop believing that any new idea proposed by its leaders will actually work. And when nothing new happens, people stop investing or caring, which can be seen in actions from not sending their kids to public school, not opening a business, or even just not speaking up at a council meeting.
This is the cycle of distrust — stagnation leads to disengagement, which leads to further stagnation. Trenton isn’t the only city caught in this loop and it’s a tough one to escape from.
Where the Hell is Princeton?
Princeton University produces an extraordinary amount of talent — particularly in fields like mathematics (crucial for AI foundation models), economics, physics, computer science, and engineering. These are the disciplines that will shape the future of the global economy. And while Princeton has become more engaged in Trenton over the past decade, most of that involvement has focused on community engagement, the arts, and the social sciences.
What’s still missing is any serious institutional effort around how the university can drive economic growth in Trenton or in New Jersey at large. Part of the issue is likely that Princeton doesn’t see itself as needing a town to match its gown. And part of is likely the fact that it’s close enough to New York to claim the Big Apple’s gravity instead of Trenton. This won’t change overnight, but if the university wants to live up to its values, then this disconnect needs to be addressed.
New Jersey Politics Is North vs. South with No Room for Central
New Jersey politics has long been a battle for resources between North Jersey (Newark, Jersey City, and other New York-facing suburbs) and South Jersey (Philadelphia suburbs and Shore communities). Trenton, sitting awkwardly in the middle, doesn’t have a natural power bloc to advocate for it.
Since there’s no real “Central Jersey” caucus, the pie gets split between the North and South and whatever scraps are left over are for Trenton. This is a capital city that holds little sway in the decisions that shape the state priorities.
People Doing the Work
L.A. Parker is more than just a columnist for The Trentonian — he’s Trenton’s unofficial ombudsman. In a city where local journalism is stretched thin, Parker is a political commentator, community advocate, watchdog, and a storyteller. He brings the necessary urgency and accountability to issues that might otherwise be ignored and his voice is essential.
Leon Rainbow has made Trenton his canvas. As one of the city’s most recognizable artists, his murals are everywhere — brightening buildings, reclaiming vacant walls, and telling the story of the city through color and motion. And Rainbow’s impact goes far beyond paint. He’s a committed community leader, mentoring youth, supporting neighborhood revitalization projects, and organizing events like the Jersey Fresh Jam, which celebrates street art, music, and urban culture.
Algernon “Algie” Ward was a pillar of Trenton civic life. A member of the Trenton Board of Education and the Trenton Historical Society, Algie was passionate about preserving the past and shaping a better future. He championed affordable housing, job access, senior services, and educational opportunity. Even in his final year before his passing in 2025, he was pushing forward efforts to create the Central Trenton Credit Union and fighting to preserve the Locust Hill Cemetery, where Black Civil War veterans are buried.
2025 Capitol Score
Capitol Score is my subjective ranking (using a 10 point scale) on how the city stacks up with regards to place, innovation, arts & culture, and overall livability. A perfect score isn’t the goal, improvement is.
Trenton’s 2025 Capitol Score is 4.3
Trenton has a Capital Score Potential of 6.8
Three Policy Wishes
Just a quick note here. This is just me throwing ideas on the wall based on my limited knowledge of what’s happening. There are likely many many things that need improvement and the folks on the ground will always know more.
Appoint Someone in State Government who Eats, Sleeps, and Breathes Trenton
I was hoping to hold on to this idea until we got to Lansing, but Trenton needs it now. Someone in New Jersey state government needs to wake up thinking about Trenton and go to bed thinking about Trenton. Not an emergency manager. Not a consultant. A cabinet official who reports directly to the Governor and is empowered to work side-by-side with Trenton’s Mayor and city departments to make real progress.
Why does this matter? Because it gives Trenton:
A direct line to state resources.
A signal to the private sector that Trenton isn’t on its own.
Clear accountability for delivering results that is tied directly to the Governor’s office.
If Central Jersey is never going to have the political weight of the North or South, then the only alternative is making Trenton a priority from the top.
Princeton Ties Its Future to Trenton
Short anecdote: When I joined Mayor Duggan’s administration in 2016, the University of Michigan had programs in Detroit — but no one at the university was saying Detroit was critical to their future. Fast forward a few years: there's now a $250 investment in the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in downtown Detroit, and a formal university led corridor innovation strategy that includes the city as a partner in its future.
Princeton could, and should, do the same.
Not in the traditional town-gown way. But with a serious, structural commitment that positions Trenton as a strategic priority. That could mean:
Workforce development for advanced manufacturing, lab techs, and AI
K–12 pipeline programs to prepare kids for the jobs of the future
Tech transfer and research commercialization that land in Trenton
Alumni mobilization to invest in Trenton-based solutions
Don’t Just Steal Ideas — Steal the People Who Made Them Happen
Great mayors copy what’s working in other cities. So why doesn’t Trenton also recruit the people who made those programs work.
Trenton could definitely benefit from experienced operators who’ve delivered results in cities facing the same mix of challenges: jobs, housing, transportation, service delivery. Bringing in people who have implemented real change in places like Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Pittsburgh, or Buffalo and want to do it again.
If you’re interested in more ideas on the future of Trenton, I highly encourage you to spend some time on the website for Trenton250 that was developed a few years back. There are some really great ideas that hopefully the leaders of Trenton keep moving forward on.
What’s Happening in Trenton?
Trenton is more dependent on New Jersey’s transitional aid than ever before.
Originally designed during the Christie era to give the state more leverage over majority-Black cities like Trenton, New Jersey’s transitional aid program does not seem to have had much impact beyond keeping the city afloat. Yes, state dollars help — especially when the state itself owns so much downtown real estate but doesn’t pay taxes— but dollars without strategy is just a very expensive way to tread water.
Art All Night in Trenton to return, in a way, to an all night event. sad
After several years off, Art All Night is returning to something closer to its original, city-wide celebration of creativity. This event was once a cornerstone of civic energy, drawing thousands and showcasing the talent and passion that still lives here. Its revival is a bright spot — and a reminder that when the right people step up, progress is possible.
Quality of life issues should matter in Trenton + Roads all over Trenton are crumbling, some spots are just far worse + Party loyalty should take a back seat to what’s best for Trenton.
There are clearly government issues in the city that need to be addressed. No additional comment needed.
Final Thoughts
Let’s not sugarcoat it: Trenton has a number of challenges and getting over them is not going to be easy. But if they put together some singles and doubles, they can then start to stretch themselves for some triples and homers. Add that with the heart of its people and a legacy rooted in making and building, and you get something rare: a city with the raw materials for a very different future.
Capitol Rankings
Capitol score (Capitol potential)
Phoenix, 7.9 (8.4)
Des Moines, 6.7 (8.2)
Montpelier, 6.1 (6.3)
Olympia, 5.6 (6.7)
Little Rock, 4.9 (7.4)
Trenton, 4.3 (6.8)
Harrisburg, 4.3 (6.1)
Next week we go back into the southwest to explore all that Santa Fe has to offer.