Mercer Hospital

Back in the late 1800s, the need for medical care in the city of Trenton was growing. In 1892 the Fisk family offered up some land on the west side of the city to to the board of directors for the new hospital, dubbed the Mercer Hospital. Much like the Muhlenberg Hospital, The formation of the hospital was largely thanks to a local Women's Auxiliary who petitioned, fundraised, and helped plan the facility. Three years later the hospital was operational, and had its very own nursing school. At the time, medical care was being offered out out of old  Fisk mansion on the property. This was very common. Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, and Orange all had hospitals that began in homes.

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In 1902 the hospital building was expanded with several departments added throughout the new wings. The hospital received several new additions over the next few decades, largely funded by private donors. A new power plant opened on the property in 1922, and by the 1930's the hospital was a large, tight cluster of buildings. 

The hospital maintained this size for several decades, but in 1958 a large new wing was constructed on the east side of the complex. Several houses on Rutherford Ave. were demolished to accommodate the construction. This was the tallest section that would ever rise at the complex.

In the mid 1970's a massive demolition project took place around the hospital. All the homes on both Rutherford and Bellevue Avenues were demolished the whole way down to Prospect St. the only building spared was a single old home on the corner of Prospect & Bellevue. A small office building was built on the land where the homes once stood, leaving a giant parking lot all around the buildings.

Construction on the campus finally ceased shortly afterwards. The completed building had a total of 650,000 square feet of building space, making it one of the largest hospital buildings in the state. By the turn of the century the building had expanded all it could but was rapidly becoming functionally obsolete. In 2005 plans were announced that operations were going to move to new building in Hamilton.

The community was not pleased to hear this. Hamilton was quite a distance from the neighborhood where Mercer Hospital stood. Residents were concerned that an ambulance dispatched from the new hospital would take far too long to reach them and then get back, whereas now they had medical care at their doorsteps. As always these concerns were largely ignored. By 2011 the hospital was closed its doors. They shuttered everything but their satellite emergency room, which was kept open in order to appease the angry citizens. However two years later the ER had closed as well.

In 2013 the complex was sold to a developer. The complex wasn't completely forgotten however. A security guard was hired to sit inside and scare off trespassers. He had all sorts of noise traps set up, and chains around several interior doors. Even if one managed to get inside, it was a pain to navigate. 

Unfortunately at some point security responsibilities shifted and the man was only inside for a few years. We weren't sure if he was still there the first time I visited the complex. It was clear on my second visit that he was indeed gone. Scrapping and other vandalism had significantly increased, all but ensuring the building will never see life as a hospital again. 

Plans are currently being discussed to return the property back to use for the community. Whether or not that means the entire building will be lost in the process remains to be seen.