Trenton Makes The World Takes Bridge over the Delaware River

The Lower Trenton Bridge Crossing was used by the Pennsylvania Railroad when the illuminated sign was first displayed on August 8th, 1917. The original 12-foot high wooden letters were illuminated with 2,500 incandescent light bulbs. In 1928, the iron span was replaced to carry vehicles. It became part of Route 1, and was dubbed the “Free Bridge”, but it went for 6 years without a sign.    

Roy Heath, founder of  Heath Lumber founder came up with the phrase “The World Takes, Trenton Makes” for a 1910 Trenton Chamber of Commerce promotional contest. For the years before it was reversed and emblazoned on the bridge in capital letters, Heath’s winning slogan was used on C. of C. stationery, buttons, shipping crates, and promotional roadway signs.

But the bridge crossing has a much larger history than carrying a slogan.  In 1806, the first bridge built there was the first one to cross the Delaware, usurping a ferry service that operated below the falls as early as 1675 when New Jersey was still an English Colony.  

The bridge was purchased by the Camden and Amboy Rail Road to carry railroad traffic, beginning in 1835.  It became the first interstate railroad crossing in the nation.  By 1920, a new stone arch railroad bridge had been completed across the Delaware. Completed in November 1928, the current through-truss version of the Trenton Morrisville Bridge carried Route 1 traffic without a toll.

Second Sign

A red-neon-illuminated sign shined from the new bridge for the first time in October 1935. That sign was 330-feet long with capital letters 9 feet high and the other letters 7-feet high. Each letter housing was 18-inches wide with a white interior. But the sign went dark during WWII.

In 1951, Route 1 was moved to a four-lane span, the Trenton Morrisville Toll Bridge, operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, just downstream of the 1928 bridge to handle increased traffic on Route One.  The current auto toll is $1.25 for southbound traffic only.

Third Sign

By 1980, the sign was considered to be an eyesore. But there was enough popular opinion in Trenton to raise funds to replace it. Unfortunately, the neon replacement proved to be very unreliable. At times it was not readable because so many letters had gone dark.

Fourth Sign

The last unreliable neon was removed when new LED lights were installed in 2017.  The current “TRENTON MAKES   THE WORLD TAKES” sign is nine feet six inches high and 334 feet long.  

The new LEDs change color. They follow an annual color scheme schedule established by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.  

If you have a special lighting request, you can make one online.  But be specific!  There are 16 million possible color variations!

The new LEDs have caused people to forget the old signs with neon gremlins that prompted

The New York Times to ran a headline in 1986; ”Mis_ing Lett_rs In N_w Jers_y Sign”. Other or sarcastic remarks appeared in the press, like “Trenton Flickers, The World Snickers”. This must have made folks at the Chamber of Commerce cringe.

Timeline

• 1806: The first bridge to cross the Delaware River was built at Trenton.
• 1835: The bridge became the nation’s first interstate railroad crossing after being purchased by the Camden and Amboy Rail Road.
• 1917: The slogan “Trenton Makes – The World Takes” was displayed on the railroad bridge with incandescent bulbs.
• 1928: A new bridge opened to carry Route 1 traffic without a toll.
• 1935 The new Route 1 bridge gets the sign back in neon.
• 1951: Route 1 traffic was shifted to the new Trenton Morrisville Toll Bridge to manage increased traffic.
• 1980 & 2005: The neon lettering on the “TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES” sign was replaced.
• 2017: Neon lights on the bridge’s sign were replaced with LED lights capable of changing colors.