Reconsidering Trenton

Trenton, like the state of New Jersey, is often maligned these days, but there was a time when Trenton was the fiftieth largest city in the United States and boasted worldwide leaders in the iron and steel, rubber, and pottery industries. Like many cities of its comparative size and prowess that came of age in the Industrial Revolution, Trenton diminished in the aftermath of World War II and has become, for many, one of the “lost cities”—a place of lessened population, abandoned houses, and shuttered factories. Featuring a series of meditative explorations on the essence of the American post-industrial city through the prism of Trenton, this book explores the city’s history, architecture, parks, factories, and neighborhoods through text and image, highlighting the importance of such post-industrial cities.

A practicing lawyer and author of three prior photography books, Steven M. Richman speaks and writes extensively in the area of international law. He is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, and vice-president of the New Jersey State Museum.

Steven M. Richman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 298
Bibliographic Info: 68 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4822-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6223-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Preface   1
Introduction   7
Part One: Establishing a Context
1. The City of the Flâneur   13
2. The City Defined and Considered   33
3. The City and the Persistence of Memory   58
Part Two: The Elements of City Life
4. The City of History   78
5. The City and Its Architecture   95
6. The City of Lost Factories   116
7. The Urbanist City   136
8. The Engineered City   153
9. The Landscaped City   173
Part Three: People Reacting to the City
10. The City of Thought   185
11. The Territorial City   200
12. The City and Its Footprint   215
13. The City and the Photographer   238
Epilogue   254
Chapter Notes   255
Bibliography   273
Index   281