By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The consolidated Princeton has a logo, a first-time mayor and a six-member council, now all it needs are new names for its two government buildings.
For now, old Borough Hall is being referred to as Monument Drive, while the township Municipal Building is being called 400 Witherspoon. But that’s going to change, with the public weighing in.
The town plans to launch a naming contest for both buildings this month, the details of which are being worked out, said Council President Bernard P. Miller on Friday. Mr. Miller is serving on a three-member planning committee that also includes Library Director Leslie Burger and Transition Task Force member Linda Mather.
Mr. Miller said the goal is to have the contest wrapped up and names recommended to the governing body in late April to early May. Although there is expected to be a panel of judges, the governing body will have the final say of the name choice, he said.
Asked what names he would be partial to, Mr. Miller said, “I’m open to several different possibilities.”
Last year, there was talk of calling Borough Hall the Monument Building and the township building the Witherspoon Building. Officials decided to continue using both buildings, almost most of the main government functions including police, municipal court, administration, planning, engineering are housed at Witherspoon Street.
Aside from submitting names, contestants also will be asked to write a short essay in support of their submissions. In theory, the contest could have more than one winner, since officials could choose one person’s name choice for old Borough Hall and someone else’s for the former township building.
This is the second time the town turned to the public for help in helping to forge the public identity of the community.
Last year, there was a townwide contest for the logo of the consolidated Princeton; in all, there were 75 entries. The winner, industrial designer Jeff Leonard, came up with a black circular design incorporating the Mercer Oak tree that once stood at the Princeton Battlefield and the words Princeton in white and New Jersey in orange. For his winning effort, he received $500 and a one-year membership to the Arts Council of Princeton.
Ms. Mather said that based on the public participation in the logo contest, she expects varied submissions for the buildings. She said there is a lot of “creativity and interest at this important time” for the new community.
Prizes are expected to be awarded in the building naming contest.

