Cadwalader Heights: The View from Here
with Glenn Modica
Sunday, September 10, 2017
2 pm
$20, Members $15
In conjunction with the exhibit Cadwalder Park: An Olmsted Vision and the Cadwalader Heights Civic Association’s House Tour of historic Cadwalader Heights, the Trenton Museum Society andd the Cadwalder Park Alliance present Historic Preservationist Glenn R. Modica revealing the fascinating history of Cadwalader Heights, a singular neighborhood in Trenton’s western section, situated across Parkside Avenue from Cadwalader Park.
Unlike the surrounding neighborhoods of Berkeley Square, Hillcrest and Hiltonia whose streets are laid out in a flat grid pattern, Cadwalader Heights stands out with its hilly, curving, tree-lined streets and set back houses. Designed in the 1890s by Frederick Law Olmsted, Cadwalader Heights is the only residential neighborhood in New Jersey designed by Olmsted himself. Cadwalader Heights came to fruition through the efforts of Edmund Hill, a baker turned real estate developer, who collaborated with the Cadwalader estate to transform their familial land. The first home was completed in 1907, and by 1930 the neighborhood brimmed with architect-designed homes catering to Trenton’s leaders of industry, commerce, education and the arts. Today, Cadwalader Heights remains a close-knit community highlighted by its signature landscape design and homes of architectural distinction.
Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York’s Central Park and Trenton’s Cadwalader Park, is considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. His public parks, the design of which he was most proud, have had a lasting effect on urban America. Celebrating 115 years of that legacy, the exhibit at Ellarslie explores the importance of Cadwalader Park to Trenton residents and visitors alike.
Glenn R. Modica 
Modica is proud to have called Cadwalader Heights home. In 2007, he wrote Cadwalader Heights: The History of an Olmsted Neighborhood, a book commemorating the 100th anniversary of this unique neighborhood. Modica is a historian who has worked in the field of historic preservation for twenty years. He was a cultural resources consultant for Richard Grubb & Associates in Cranbury, New Jersey, and in 2015 he moved to Providence, Rhode Island where he works for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. Modica has a B.A. in History from Northwestern University and an M.A. in History from The City College of New York.
Find information about the September 16, 2017, noon – 5 pm Cadwalader Heights House Tour at this site.
Glenn will stay at the end of the presentation to sign his book, available in the Ellarslie store.
Help ensure our future as a Guardian Angel
