Lights will soon shine on restored Princeton Battle Monument

Ceremony is set for Sept. 15

By: Nick Norlen
   The fencing is down, and the lighting will be up soon at the Princeton Battle Monument.
   Now that the restoration phase of the project is complete, the Princeton Parks Alliance is in the home stretch of the $125,000 illumination project.
   Kevin Wilkes, the architect coordinating the lighting phase, announced Monday that an illumination ceremony will be held at the monument Sept. 15.
   But there is still work to be done, he said.
   Landscape repair and maintenance are currently under way around the base of the plaza, where the roots of a white pine tree, cut down last year, caused damage to the monument’s base, Mr. Wilkes said.
   This month, six lights will be placed on the roof of Borough Hall, and 12 will be installed in the terrace in the base of the monument.
   Mr. Wilkes said all the light fixtures have been delivered and special brackets are being made to hold them.
   The lights are custom, low-energy models, assembled in New Jersey from special parts from Germany.
   "They have very low energy usage, but very high light output," Mr. Wilkes said, noting that the lights will use "less wattage to light the monument than in a previous attempt."
   The illumination design was created by Princeton resident Charles Stone, of the New York-based firm Fisher Marantz Stone.
   The first phase of the restoration, overseen by Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects and the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Parks and Forestry, included cleaning, masonry work, stone setting and repaving.
   Fencing remained around the monument, which commemorates Gen. George Washington leading his troops into the Jan. 3, 1777 Battle of Princeton, until the concrete had time to cure.
   According to Mr. Wilkes, invitations to dignitaries for the lighting launch and rededication of the monument have so far been accepted by Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman and state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton).
   Mr. Wilkes said the event will be a two-part affair, including the public lighting ceremony and a fundraiser for the Princeton Parks Alliance immediately following the event at Morven Museum and Garden.