2-6 East State Street (Commercial Building), 2-6 East State Street, Trenton, Mercer County, NJ

Significance: This building was for two decades the office of the New Jersey State Gazette, one of Trenton's two most important 19th century newspapers. It was here, in 1847, that the State Gazette began publishing as Trenton's first daily paper. Part of the building, now 6 North Warren, was the first headquarters of the Mechanics National Bank, Trenton's second oldest banking establishment. Other small businesses operating in the building in the 19th and 20th centuries reflected the changes in technology and retailing from the era of the harness and saddle shop to the stereo equipment store.
Representative of the commercial vernacular architecture of the first half of the 19th century, 2-6 East State Street is notable for its large bracketed cornice. Only the brick walls of the building remain unchanged since its construction; the cornice, upper floor windows, and the storefronts have all be altered during a century and half of use.
Survey number: HABS NJ-961
Building/structure dates: 1833 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 19t2 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1987 Demolished