We went to Princeton to go on a guided birding walk that was a bit of a dud, and then spent some time walking around town taking in the sites. We have both been to Princeton before (once upon a time I led a historical walking tour of Princeton for my hiking club!), so this was an opportunity to visit a few sites we hadn’t managed to do before.
The cover photo is Westland, the home of President Grover Cleveland from his retirement in 1897 until his death in 1908. It is currently on the market for $6 million, but it also means you can get a look inside if you’d like!
Sculpture, Statues, and a Monument
The Princeton Battle Monument, which commemorates the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777 (Revolutionary War). “With the battle, and the war, hanging in the balance, Washington personally led fresh troops onto the field” and saved the day!
Newspaper Reader, 1975, J. Seward Johnson. We previously saw a version of this in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where the headline was about the Three Mile Island incident. The headline here reads “Nixon Resigns.”
Oval with Points, 1969-70, Henry Moore. This is one in a series of six, with the other five located elsewhere in the United States and internationally.
The Palmer Square Tiger, by Charles R. Knight. The tiger was commissioned in 1944 in honor of financier Edgar Palmer, who made significant contributions to Princeton.
Albert Einstein, 2005, Robert Berks. Berks. Berks also did a famous statue of Einstein in Washington, D.C. Einstein was a faculty member at Princeton University from 1933 until his death in 1955.
Princeton University Chapel
Meet my nemesis: Princeton University Chapel. It’s supposed to be open for most of the day, but over the years I have tried again and again to go inside, only to find locked doors or a stupid wedding going on inside. As we approached the doors this time, I saw the “service in progress” sign and said “*#%!, the only service today was over hours ago!” Doug peered through the window in the door and noted there was no one inside, maybe they forgot to put the sign away? So we very quietly made our way in, and almost immediately were confronted – a memorial service was about to start. I think the guy took pity on me when he saw my face – he granted permission to go just inside but no further than the last row. Good enough, kind sir.
Though it looks ancient, it was only completed in 1928, at a cost of $2.3 million dollars! At the time of its construction, it was second in size only to the chapel at King’s College at Cambridge University. It can seat nearly 2,000 people, and is constructed in the Tudor Gothic style.
Back view.
Princeton University Campus
Just a few pretty buildings from around campus.
Princeton Cemetery
President Grover Cleveland.
Architect and designer Michael Graves. Doug owned a sugar and creamer set designed by Graves that was divested in the Great Purge for van life (we saw it on display at the Kirkland Museum).
It’s Aaron Burr, sir! His father was the second president of Princeton University and is buried here in President’s Row, so Burr got in, too. No mention of his little duel with Alexander Hamilton. Oh yeah, Burr was also a United States Vice President. Whatever.
A fan favorite in the cemetery is William Hahn’s marker reading “I told you I was sick.” Apparently he ordered it about a week before he died.
Author John O’Hara and his wife Katharine. Apparently Mr. O felt a little underappreciated in his professional life, saying things like “No one writes them any better than I do” in the foreword to his own collection of short stories. Apparently his wife agreed, since she chose the epitaph on his marker: “Better than anyone else, he told the truth about his time. He was a professional. He wrote honestly and well.”
Morven Museum
Morven Museum is a home built circa 1760 that was home to many generations of the Stockton family, before becoming the New Jersey’s governor’s mansion from 1944 to 1981. Owner Richard Stockton (1730-1781) had a claim to fame of signing the United States Declaration of Independence. The home has had many modifications and structural changes over the years.
There’s not too much to the museum, to be honest, and it didn’t take long for us to make our way through the exhibits.
Stockton family scrapbook circa 1880, overflowing with “letters, drawings, poems, legal documents, ribbons, and articles collected over the years.” But most fun is that it was made by Mark Twain’s scrapbook company – did you know he was a scrapbook enthusiast?! He received a patent for self-adhesive pages in 1873!
Robert Field Stockton, 1849, Thomas Sully. This is one of the weirdest portraits of a toddler I’ve ever seen, and it’s a Thomas Sully! Sully’s ledger describes the two-and-a-half-year-old as “mischievously upsetting a basket of flowers.” It cost $300 – in 1849!
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