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Vol. LXII, No. 42
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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Vol. LXII, No. 42
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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ROB ROBERTSON
Mercer Street
ROXANNE LIST
MARTHA LAND
Co-Chairs, Slammin’ Super Saturday
John Witherspoon Middle School PTO
To the Editor:
Historic Princeton has a heritage and a beauty of which we all can be proud. To its great credit, the Borough has a broad consensus with residents through the Master Plan that this heritage is worth preserving and enhancing.
And so it is with shock and dismay that we learn of an ill-informed concept to demolish Speer Library, a fine historic building in the heart of the Mercer Hill Historic District.
Bulldozing our heritage is a bad idea of historic proportions and should be strongly opposed by citizens and city representatives alike.
Speer Library is located at the intersection of Mercer Street and Library Place. This important historic site is included in the Princeton Historic District, which is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places (1973) and the National Register of Historic Places (1975). In 1985, Princeton Borough created the Mercer Hill Historic District Overlay in an effort to strengthen protection of this area, and Speer Library rests proudly in the center of it.
Speer Library contributes to our town’s historic heritage in many ways. It is the only Collegiate Gothic style building in the Mercer Hill Historic District. The district contains outstanding examples of architectural styles as diverse as the origins of our state. Built in 1956, it is a smaller version of Princeton University’s Firestone Library, built in 1948. The same architects of Firestone Library — the firm of O’Connor and Kilham — designed the interiors of Speer, still containing many original details. Speer also contains delightful Art Deco detailing, increasing its unique historic contribution.
Bulldozing Speer would have a colossally negative impact on Princeton’s historic heritage owing to its “keystone” location. It is within a one minute walk of both of the District’s two National Historic Landmark structures (the Einstein House and Morven), can be seen from Trinity Church and Borough Hall, and rests proudly along the Mercer Street gateway into Princeton.
Princeton Borough’s Historic Preservation Review Committee has strongly condemned the Seminary’s demolition concept proposal and clearly summarized its opinion in a nine-page memo to the Princeton Regional Planning Board last month.
As a resident of Princeton, I urge the Planning Board to deny this brazenly insensitive proposal and instead encourage the Seminary to investigate the respectful alternatives of reuse, renovation, or expansion for their library needs.
ROB ROBERTSON
Mercer Street
To the Editor,
On behalf of the John Witherspoon Middle School PTO, we would like to thank the Princeton community for supporting Slammin’ Super Saturday on September 27 at JWMS. Despite the rain, we had a fabulous turnout at our annual fund-raising carnival. People of all ages enjoyed the many rides and games that were offered, as well as some tasty treats. The festivities helped raise nearly $10,000 to fund the Sixth Grade Environmental Education trip to the Delaware Water Gap.
Slammin’ Super Saturday could not have been a success without the many people who volunteered. We want to thank all the volunteers and local organizations for their time and energy, as well as the Princeton-area companies who generously supplied goods and services. It was truly a community event.
Thank you again for your support and we hope to see you next Fall for Slammin’ Super Saturday 2009 — rain or shine.
ROXANNE LIST
MARTHA LAND
Co-Chairs, Slammin’ Super Saturday
John Witherspoon Middle School PTO