Congratulations and Thanks to All Involved In Model Outcome on Prospect
To the Editor:
Three summers ago a notable controversy arose when the University proposed moving the former Court Clubhouse across Prospect Avenue and demolishing three old houses to accommodate it. The demolition would have meant the loss of some fine Queen Anne and Colonial Revival architecture, and the erasure of the tangible history of the houses as homes to two eating clubs and several important professors, including émigrés from Nazi Germany.
Last Tuesday the University presented exemplary plans to the Planning Board for the restoration of the three houses, including preserving historic exterior fabric, reconstructing missing historic components, and painting in historic colors. The University’s team of staff and consulting architects did a superb job studying existing features and researching historic sources. The preservation of the houses has also importantly saved seven apartments plus distinctive office space for the University.
What was a controversy three years ago has turned into a model project.
This very positive outcome came about through community and alumni engagement, the University’s openness for input from the community, alumni, and public officials, and the Planning Board’s and Historic Preservation Commission’s commitment to balancing the need for new development with the appropriate preservation of Princeton’s notable heritage.
Through the informal Save Prospect Coalition, many current and former residents proffered cogent comments and suggestions, and over 1,700 signed a petition to save the three houses. Leaders of the Princeton Prospect Foundation imparted their knowledge and expertise of the history of Prospect Avenue as well as their dedication to the long-term preservation of the eating clubs. Princeton planning and preservation staff and members of the Planning Board and Historic Preservation Commission painstakingly deliberated over the alternatives for a balanced solution.
The compromise reached in October 2021 included restoration of the three houses to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties; the designation of a new municipal Prospect Avenue Historic District from Washington Road and Murray Place; the expansion of the New Jersey and National Register Princeton Historic District to include the former Court Clubhouse, the three historic houses, and the 1911 Ferris Thompson Wall and Gate designed by McKim, Mead and White; landscaping design in front of the new Theorist Pavilion in keeping with the Prospect Avenue streetscape; and, if University Trustees approve, the installation of signage commemorating the important academic residents of the historic houses. As part of the University’s commitment to preservation on Prospect Avenue, it restored the magnificent ironwork on the Ferris Thompson Gate, and won the 2024 Gold Award for Restoration from the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Medals Association.
Congratulations and grateful thanks to everyone involved in formulating this overall model outcome on Prospect Avenue.
As more development proceeds in Princeton, lets continue to balance it openly and admirably with meaningful preservation of our shared heritage in our town’s notable historic buildings and streetscapes.