Alexander Hall
Flashback Friday
A trip to Princeton
A couple of years ago we visited NYC, that was before we knew we were moving here of course. During that trip, we also went to Princeton. Since then we have been to Princeton at least one more time. If you are spending some time in NYC I can definitely recommend going to Princeton for the day or even spending one night there. We spent the night in a cozy little bed and breakfast walking distance from Princeton University.
It’s easy to get to Princeton (just under 2 hrs), NJ transit from Penn station takes you to Princeton Junction, and from there you take the “Dinky” to the university and town. It is important that you ask for a ticket to Princeton Station since they often otherwise just give you a ticket to Princeton Junction, which is a walk from Princeton. It is also important that you make sure you get to keep the ticket from when you get off at Princeton Junction because you have to show it again on the Dinky. The Dinky does not run that often, so you have to plan accordingly. The total price to get here is about 17.75$ one-way.
Princeton is a cute little university town, and I like to compare it to any cute little town you find in England because just like those little towns Princeton is full of history and culture. The campus itself looks like something taken from a book. When we went there fall had just started to get its grip on the east coast and the area around NYC, about the same time as we are in now.
The university stems from 1746 (but the first building in Princeton wasn’t built until 1956) and the campus itself is so beautiful. All the castle-like buildings, and the gorgeous chapel. You can also find one of the largest university libraries in the world here, the Firestone Library.
The Chapel and Firestone Library in the background
There is a lot of history between all of these walls, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live here, in some of these buildings which many students do!
We spent a couple of days in Princeton, and while W was in meetings I had plenty of time to explore the campus. Once he was done we walked around some more. Two US presidents have attended this university, and 12 supreme court justices. Not completely surprising the university did not open up for women until 1960’s, 200 years after the first building was built.
Not your average Dormitory
We walked over to yet another castle-like building, Cleveland Tower and the old Graduate College, that today functions as a dormitory. Can you imagine living here?? Cleveland Tower was built in the early 1900s, and the architecture style is called Collegiate Gothic. This style was very common to use for a lot of university buildings throughout the US during this time. The website describes the housing facilities like this:
Popular features of the Old Graduate College include a common room with a fireplace and reading room; a coffee house; a game room and vending café; an exercise room; a projector room with a large projector screen, TV, and DVD player; and the D-Bar, a private club managed by the Graduate College House Committee.
Old meets New
We continued our walk around Princeton. We even walked by Albert Einsteins old house. It’s privately owned now so you can’t really walk inside. I did snag a photo of it though, I couldn’t resist. After that we did a quick stroll around the outside of the campus and through a part of Princeton before we headed for the park area. There are a few new structures that peek out here and there, a new bridge for instance that provide a sharp but nice contrast between the old and the new.
Albert Einsteins home
I haven’t shown you many photos of Princeton, the town itself. Princeton is also very attractive and there are tons of little shops with knick-knacks around here. There is even a brewery in town so it is definitely worth exploring the actual town too. A bonus on campus is the art museum where you can always find a couple of Monet’s if you are into that jam. Last year when I went they also had some Andy Warhol on display. The museum is not open every day so it’s worth checking the hours before coming out.
