A once segregated school building becomes new housing and a National Historic Register site.
By: Marjorie Censer
For some of those who gathered Thursday at The Waxwood on Quarry Street to celebrate its designation as a National Historic Register site, the building is more than just a part of Princeton’s history it’s a part of their family history.
Kim Beasley said his grandmother, Sarah Beasley, attended the building during its time as the Witherspoon School, the elementary school for Princeton’s black children. His mother, Jackie Beasley, was a resident of the building when it was the Princeton Nursing Home, and she died there.
Now, Mr. Beasley, who works at the University Medical Center at Princeton, lives in a one-bedroom unit on the first floor.
The new apartment building’s long history was front and center as residents, municipal officials and community members came to The Waxwood on Thursday evening for a champagne toast.
The Witherspoon School opened in 1908 and remained there until 1968, when the building was converted into the Princeton Nursing Home. When the nursing home moved to a new location on Bunn Drive in Princeton Township in 2003, Hillier Architecture, which purchased the property, began its renovation.
The Waxwood is named for the late Howard B. Waxwood Jr., the former principal of the Witherspoon School who was instrumental in developing the Princeton Plan that desegregated the Princeton school system.
The development includes eight affordable-housing units, including five units that are administered by the Waxwood Foundation, established by J. Robert Hillier, founder and president of the West Windsor-based architecture firm. They are reserved for individuals or their direct descendants who have lived in the John-Witherspoon neighborhood for at least 10 years. The Waxwood Foundation provides a 10-percent subsidy for renters and will offer a 20-percent subsidy for buyers.
Mr. Waxwood’s widow, Susie Ione Brown Waxwood, attended the event and praised the transformation of the building.
"I think (Mr. Waxwood) would be very pleased with it," Mrs. Waxwood said. "I think that if I were younger and more apt to be able to do things for myself, I might have been interested in living here."
Mr. Hillier began the evening by thanking those who made renovating the structure possible.
Shirley Satterfield, retired Princeton High School guidance counselor and historian of the John-Witherspoon neighborhood, and Marvin Reed, former Princeton Borough mayor, also addressed the crowd.
Ms. Satterfield asked those who had attended the school when it was the elementary school for black children to come forward. She noted that Albert Hinds, a 103-year-old resident of John Street who was present, introduced Mr. and Mrs. Waxwood in New Orleans, where they were married.
Wallace Holland, another former student at the Witherspoon School who came to the toast, said he first attended the school in 1931 at age 6. He said walking around the building reminded him of the importance of his teachers.
"Those teachers instilled in us … how to get along in life," Mr. Holland said.
New residents also came to the ceremony. Louis Pugliese said he had seen many different apartments in Princeton and chose to live in The Waxwood in part because of its historical value.
"It’s very unique and different," he said. "I thought it would attract a different kind of clientele."