PRINCETON: Palmer Square marks 75 years

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Palmer Square celebrated its 75th birthday Sunday, the town center that its namesake conceived of and helped bring to fruition.
   The late Edgar Palmer, a wealthy businessman who drove the project, is credited with developing the area, now home to upscale shops, residences and restaurants.
   Born in 1881, Mr. Palmer would go on to graduate from the then male-only Princeton University and later run the New Jersey Zinc Co., according to a history of Mr. Palmer on the Nassau Presbyterian Church website.
   ”He was quite a guy,” said local architect Jerry Ford, who recalled how Mr. Palmer loved sailing and football.
   In 1929, Mr. Palmer announced plans for the square, although the Great Depression would delay construction of his “town center” until 1936.
   David Newton, the vice president of Palmer Square Management, said Sunday the idea was to compliment the university by creating a vibrant downtown.
   Mr. Ford said Monday that he feels Mr. Palmer took his inspiration for the project from what he saw happening in New York with the development of Rockefeller Center, which was going on at the same time.
   While the scale of the two projects is different, Mr. Ford said there are similarities in the way roads are planned and the idea to include an entertainment venue.
   The original plan for Rockefeller Center, he said, called for an opera house.
   ”What Palmer did was put in a playhouse,” he said.
   Another similarity between the two was to develop a commercial area by drawing traffic from a major street, Fifth Avenue in New York’s case and Nassau Street in Princeton’s.
   The first phase of Palmer Square was completed in 1937, according to the square’s management company.
   The square evolved over the years.
   Today, the square boast restaurants, high-end stores and other businesses.
   Palmer Square newcomer Ron Menapace, owner of the Farmhouse Store, is due to open his business later this month. He said Sunday he loves the location on Hulfish Street.
   Mr. Palmer died in 1943.
   A memorial sculpture of a tiger, dedicated in his memory, stands guard at the entrance of the square looking toward Mr. Palmer’s alma mater across the street.