Grand Old Edifice

The Trenton War Memorial celebrates its 75th birthday with a gala concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

By: Susan Van Dongen

Rossen Milanov will conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra in a program of Mozart and Tchaikovsky to celebrate 75 years of great music at the Trenton landmark.

   In October 1929, Trenton was all a-twitter, celebrating its 250th anniversary. The third week of October was to be the highlight for the capital city, founded in 1679, with a parade every day and a gala colonial-style ball.
   Then the stock market crashed.
   "If you were to look at the ‘Trenton Times’ from that week, you’d see men in top hats standing on a dais watching the parade pass by and looking vaguely sick," says Sally Lane, an avid Trenton historian, formerly of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Their financial world was collapsing. People knew something was happening but didn’t know how bad it would be."
   Black Friday and the ensuing Depression didn’t stop the plans for and construction of a few grand buildings in Trenton, however. One of these was the War Memorial, known originally as the "Soldiers and Sailors Memorial." Ground was broken in July of 1930, and thanks to sufficient wealth in the industrial-rich city, the grand building was completed in 1932, officially opening Jan. 19, 1932.
   "Plans were already under way, same with some other buildings in Trenton, including the high school," Ms. Lane says. "You had a number of these large buildings on the drawing board and they continued on with things even after the crash."
   Seventy-five years later, the building conceived as a "great community center" has lived up to its planners’ intentions. The auditorium has hosted generations of high school, college and bar exam graduations, student recitals and banquets.
   The facility and its exterior plaza have also been used for political rallies. Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy used the steps to address voters.
   But the War Memorial is best known as a concert hall and theater, hosting countless luminaries — Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson Jr., Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, jazz and blues legends Duke Ellington, Count Basie and B.B. King, comedians from Bob Hope to Lewis Black, and superstar New Jersey natives Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen. Just in the last few years, the Kaplan Series on Patriots Stage has brought music lovers intimately close to the likes of Leon Redbone, John Sebastian and Mose Allison.
   To celebrate 75 years of great music and community service at this Trenton landmark, Patriots Theater at the War Memorial welcomes the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Rossen Milanov. This very special performance — the first appearance at Patriots Theater in 60 years by the orchestra — features the music of Mozart and Tchaikovsky and evokes memories of the famous 1943 concert of the fabulous Philadelphians led by Eugene Ormandy.
   Noted architect J. Robert Hillier, honorary chairman of the War Memorial’s 75th Anniversary Gala, will present a tribute to the two architects of the Soldiers and Sailors War Memorial, Louis S. Kaplan and William A. Klemann.
   Mr. Klemann was the actual winner of the design competition, but died in late 1929 with only preliminary drawings completed. Mr. Kaplan, who had been Mr. Klemann’s chief draftsman before leaving to establish his own firm, was asked to finish the work. The original plans and drawings — many of them donated after his death by Mr. Kaplan’s son and daughter — were stored in the building. Today they are part of the State Archives, along with playbills, posters and construction photographs.
   Ms. Lane reflects that funds for the construction project were raised in a way that would probably not be possible now.
   "When the building’s cost was estimated at $800,000, the city announced its willingness to put up one-quarter of the total," she says. "Mercer County agreed to match that figure once the War Memorial Committee had raised $400,000 in contributions from the public."
   In a one-week campaign that began Nov. 4, 1927, and ended on Nov. 11 — Armistice Day — a total of $428,853 had been pledged. An array of people from all walks of life and socio-economic groups promised their support. A Mrs. Anclien, a Gold Star Mother, pledged 50 cents, while John Heffler, "a veteran of the German army," pledged $5. The Kuser School’s eighth grade class was to contribute $6.45. A $100 pledge from the Mitchell Davis Post American Legion honored Mr. Davis, the only African-American Trentonian killed in the war.
   "Before a local campaign was organized, school children from the state had contributed a fund of pennies," Ms. Lane says. "This was right after the end of World War I and the money was invested in Liberty Bonds until it was needed; $87,000 eventually went to the War Memorial. There’s a plaque on the marble floor of the Memorial Court that pays tribute to this gift."
   Envisioned as a true town hall — a grand auditorium with meeting rooms — the building was jointly owned by the city of Trenton and Mercer County before it was taken over by the state in 1988.
   Unfortunately, the War Memorial hadn’t been nurtured over the course of 60 years and was a shadow of its original self. Gov. Thomas Kean, at his state-of-the-state address in January 1988, proposed that New Jersey restore the building, updating the mechanical systems and restoring the decorative qualities of the building.
   "It had been re-painted a number of times, but usually just in a neutral color," Ms. Lane says. "We didn’t know that there had been a far more inventive paint scheme. Look at the interior walls some time and you’ll be fascinated by all the different colors. The restoration was done meticulously and people were stunned. The care taken with the design is evident in the building’s details, including the light fixtures, which were designed by the architect and are different in every section.
   "The best-known artwork is the tile work throughout the building and especially in the two water fountains in the basement," she continues. "Those are featured in major books on art tiles in America. Herman Carl Mueller (of Mueller Mosaic Co., based in Trenton) designed the fountains and tile work."
   Before the $350 million restoration, just a few major changes had been made to this landmark building. The 1975 donation of the restored Moller pipe organ from Trenton’s Lincoln Theater was one. Another was a welcome improvement — the installation of central air conditioning in 1979. The renovations that would renew the War Memorial — thoroughly updating the infrastructure and production capabilities — took more than five years and preserved the grandeur of the original building. It is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
   For Ms. Lane and many others who have a lifelong fondness for the War Memorial, it’s the music and entertainment that has made the building come to life.
   "I’ve seen all kinds of people perform there," she says. "As a subscriber to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, I’ve heard so many great classical concerts. I saw the most wonderful Ray Charles concert there not too long ago. I even saw Gene Autry perform with his horse. That’s one of my first memories of the theater."
The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Rossen Milanov will perform at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, West Lafayette and Barrack streets, Trenton, June 23, 8 p.m., for the War Memorial’s 75th Anniversary Gala. Tickets cost $35-$100. (609) 984-8400; www.thewarmemorial.comwww.philorch.org