The Trenton City Museum

The Trenton City Museum

Don’t you love discovering something new and enriching? This weekend we found The Trenton City Museum in Trenton, NJ. It is a little gem situated within Cadwalader Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape designer of Central Park in New York City. The site consists of 100 acres of urban parkland with a variety of trees and shrubs, curving nature paths and roadways, and lots of places for picnics. 

The museum is housed in the Ellarslie Mansion, built in 1848 for Henry McCall Sr. of Philadelphia, as a summer residence. The mansion had a varied history of use over the years but was renovated in 1971 as the museum it is today.

The museum currently has a wonderful Crafts exhibition on the first floor. The second floor galleries focus on Trenton’s famous ceramic industry and house a collection of ceramicware, decorative arts, industrial memorabilia and historical objects. A photography exhibit is opening August 9^th and will run until September 22^nd.

Sometimes a surprise is what we need to awaken our senses and remind us of the treasures around us. Flowers do that for me each Spring, when the buds hint of their imminent blossoming. But that’s the nature of discovery, the unknowing that gives way to delight. It seems to come out of the blue yet, often, was there all the time. Like a park and a museum that is only a car ride away.

A lovely place to discover:

http://www.ellarslie.org/TrentonCityMuseum-Welcome.htm