Trenton Makes Bridge Sign

The Lower Trenton Bridge crosses the Delaware on the western edge of downtown, and spanning its length in red neon is the most famous sign in New Jersey: TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES. The slogan dates to the city's manufacturing heyday and has become Trenton's defining image — sardonic, defiant, and oddly moving given the city's post-industrial decline.

The bridge is a working road bridge on Route 29, but you can park nearby and walk across for a closer look. The sign is best seen at night when it is lit. The view from the Trenton side looking toward Pennsylvania is also the best vantage point for photographs.

things to do sight
A story
The full slogan reads "Trenton Makes, The World Takes" — a boast from the city's industrial peak in the early 20th century, when Trenton manufactured wire rope, steel, rubber, and pottery on a scale that supplied markets across the country. The sign was installed in 1935 and has outlasted most of what it was celebrating.