Restoration of Princeton Battle Monument took six months longer than expected
By: Olivia Tattory
Nearly six months after the state of New Jersey and Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects anticipated, the Princeton Battle Monument restoration is finally complete.
The fence around the monument however will remain for another two to three weeks, said Don Deluca, a project manager for the restoration. The purpose is to give the concrete an ample amount of time to cure. According to Mr. Deluca, the paving took much longer than the contractors originally planned.
"There are hand-placed pebbles inside the wall that surrounds the monument," he said. "They are an inch-and-a-half to two-inch-sized pebbles that were hand placed and we don’t want to take the chance of exposing it too soon."
This is the first cleaning the monument has seen in nearly 20 years. The monument also underwent masonry work, stone setting and re-paving. The state Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Forestry oversaw the restoration project.
The $125,000 illumination project undertaken by the Princeton Parks Alliance is also complete. This includes the installation of ground-level lighting surrounding the monument as well as lighting components on the roof of Princeton Borough Hall.
The illumination design was created by Charles Stone, a Princeton resident, of the New York-based firm Fisher Marantz Stone.
According to Dana Loschiavo, a spokeswoman for the DEP, there is no event or ceremony planned any time soon for the completion of the restoration project. Princeton Borough officials want to wait until the end of the summer to hold anything, said Ms. Loschiavo.
The Princeton Battle Monument commemorates the Jan. 3, 1777 Battle of Princeton and depicts Gen. Washington on horseback leading his troops into battle. Frederick MacMonnies designed the limestone monument with the help of architect Thomas Hastings. It was commissioned in 1908 and was finished and dedicated in 1922 with President Warren G. Harding in attendance. It’s completion marked the close of over 30 years of planning.

