Ewing Senior & Community Center

The ESCC is closed to the public due to major fire damage. To get the latest consturction updates click on ESCC Construction Updates in the menu below. 

All services and staff have been relocated to the Hollowbrook Community Center at 320 Hollowbrook Drive.

Ted Forst, Director of Community Affairs
Email: tforst@ewingnj.org
Nancy Pappano, Secretary
Email: npappano@ewingnj.org

p: (609) 883-1776
f: (609) 883-5023

Mailing Address
999 Lower Ferry Road
Ewing, NJ 08628

On September 30, 2022, the Ewing Senior and Community Center (ESCC) suffered significant damage from a five-alarm fire.  The blaze destroyed the back half of the building including the gym, and part of the roof collapsed making it unusable.  The site has been closed ever since. 

The loss of the center, which served as a gathering spot and hub for public programming for the community, for seniors, community groups, summer youth programs, sports, and so much more has left a gaping hole in our community activities and programming.  Mayor Steinmann has vowed, since we must rebuild, to rebuild better - to rebuild a center that will meet the community’s needs for the future, for years to come.

Plans for the rebuild are underway (see ESCC Construction Updates).     
During the interim, services have been consolidated at the Hollowbrook Community Center.  During the summer. the ESCC pool and summer camps are managed through a trailer located next door to the pool for the summer.   

Closed during the ESCC rebuild.

Passive Recreation: Enjoy some quiet time in the park at the back of the center at the playground area, have a picnic, and/or enjoy a stroll on the grounds.

Active Recreation:  Enjoy a game of tennis or basketball.  Sign up for membership in our pool system which is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends.

The outdoor facilities at the ESCC consist of the following: 

• 1 youth basketball court
• 1 adult basketball court
• 2 tennis courts
• Playground equipment and  swings including a Special Needs Access Playground with Inclusive Play™ playground equipment in the play area behind the ESCC for children with disabilities. The Inclusive Play™ equipment allows children of all abilities to grow and play together by addressing accessibility, age and developmental appropriateness and sensory-stimulating activity.
• swimming pool complex (5-lane pool, kiddie pool, 2 shallow pools), and brand new splash pad
• sand volleyball court

Outdoor recreational facilities include a pool complex with a snack bar, the historic Trenton Bath Houses, day camp facility, outdoor basketball and tennis courts, a large playground and a sand volleyball court. For more information about the community pool at the ESCC please see the Ewing Pool System page on this website.

The property that is home to the current Ewing Senior and Community Center was originally purchased by the Jewish community of Trenton in 1954 and was known as the Trenton Jewish Community Center.

The site is known for the signature architecture of Louis I. Kahn, one of America’s most influential architects of the twentieth century and the Bath House and Day Camp Pavilions were listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The Trenton Bath House began operation in 1955 and programs were run through around 2006. However, use of the facility began to decline in the 1990s and so too did the physical condition of the facility. Public funds were eventually raised to preserve the Bath House. In 2005, the JCC decided to sell the property and move to West Windsor.

Most of the property was subsequently purchased by Mercer County with funds from its Open Space Preservation Trust in 2007. Ownership of the property was transferred to Ewing Township, with conservation and historic preservation easements, protecting the property from development and maintaining the historic integrity of the structures. Ewing Township received a matching grant in 2009, in the amount of $750,000, from the New Jersey Historic Trust for restoration of the Bath House and Day Camp Pavilions and the Township and Mercer County partnered to restore the structures.

The Bath House was restored by 2011. This included reconstruction of two of the Day Camp Pavilions, and a new snack bar and plaza. The site was also rehabilitated to current accessibility standards.

In 2012 a new community green and parking area were built, in accordance with Kahn’s original intention and provide a gathering point for community functions.

Today, the site, now known as the Ewing Senior and Community Center, provides programs similar to those of the former Jewish Community Center.

For more information about the history of the site see http://kahntrentonbathhouse.org/index.php.