Riding a bicycle to Rider College in 1924, Trenton, New Jersey


If you've ever wondered what it used to say along the top of the building at State and Carroll in Trenton, New Jersey, it said, "Rider College", which taught things like Mathematics, Shorthand, and Banking.


No, I'm no historical wizard, or expert on Trenton, I only know this only because of a photo that I just found at the Duke University site, and you can see for yourself. I jumped on Google Street View, and sure enough you can just barely see the lettering that has been covered up. Here's a screenshot:


People who look at old buildings, like me, call these "ghost signs". Not sure what the two dates mean, maybe the establishment of the school and when the building was erected?


Anyway this is a fun picture with a lot of details that I call "slice of life". And my eye immediately went to the guy on the bicycle, because I love to pedal around! And I love the old cars that went "A-Oooogah!"


Wilson the Printer was right next door. If you recognize the make and model of that car, please let me know and I'll update the post. The lady there, on the left, looks thoroughly modern for the 1920s. By the way, I'm no genius figuring out dates, the date for this photo was written right on it.



And now a word from our sponsor. There's always advertising, isn't there? Actually, that's the reason that this photo was originally taken - to prove that the ad was up and visible, which it was. It's advertising C. Ribsam Landscape Gardeners. Their office was at 31 Wall Street, their nursery was on Lawrenceville Road, and the greenhouses were at 544 East State Street. They were established in 1863, so they'd been around a while. Their landscape architect is Rudolph K. Ribsam. A relative, do you suppose? Their slogan is: Our plans cost you less than mistakes.

Thank you for visiting Trenton in 1924 with me! A-Ooooogah!




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