Morven Recruits Noted Architect For Master Plan and New Building

Matthew Hersh

Representatives from Historic Morven have announced that architect Raphael Vinoly has been recruited to help assemble a new master plan and possibly design a new building for events, lectures, and administrative offices.

Members of the Princeton Task Force on Community Resources called on Morven Executive Director Martha Wolf last Wednesday to delineate Morven's intentions for the site.

The purpose of the task force's meeting was to assess the function and purposes of all Borough and Township municipal facilities, to oversee community resources, and to create a transportation strategy established by a joint transportation commission.

While Morven lies on 4.5 acres of land within the Borough, it is state-owned property, so approval from Borough Council or the Princeton Regional Planning Board is not required for structural changes to improve the facility that has been home to five New Jersey governors.

"The new building should provide education space for lectures or for school groups, and administrative space," Ms. Wolf said. "We, at this point don't have any space for our archival records."

She added that the museum was looking to create a "passive" storage area for its records and underlined that it would not serve as a public library.

"We want there to be a visitor center where people can walk in off the street, and take a look around," she said. "Right now people have nowhere to go when they finish their tour; they have to leave. We want to create an area where there can be some sort of follow-up."

The architect is no stranger to working in Princeton. Mr. Vinoly designed the yet-to-be-named Princeton Stadium and the new Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics on the University campus.

However, Ms. Wolf said it was Mr. Vinoly's design of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia that caught the eyes of Morven's trustees.

Currently open for limited hours due to other construction and renovations, Historic Morven will resume regular hours beginning with an October 16 grand re-opening. On October 17, the public will be invited to an open house where various speakers and musical acts are scheduled to appear. Also planned for the event are walking tours and carriage rides through the neighborhood.

The land on which Morven lies was originally purchased from William Penn by the first Richard Stockton in 1701. In 1754, Stockton's grandson and signer of the Declaration of Independence built the house on the property with his wife, Annis Boudinot Stockton.

During the Revolutionary War, the house was occupied by British soldiers, and in 1783, the mansion hosted the Continental Congress. George Washington is also known to have stayed in the house in 1790.

Gov. Brendan Byrne was the most recent head of state to occupy the home, which, during its years as the governors' mansion, has hosted several visitors including President John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, and Bill Cosby.