‘Princeton: Then & Now’ depicts the university town in all its time periods.
By: Ilene Dube
When we think of all the beautiful things in history that have been lost, from architecture to unspoiled land, one thing we can be grateful for is more trees in Princeton. A glance through Richard Smith’s new book, Princeton: Then & Now (Arcadia Publishing, $19.99), shows how many more, and more mature, trees we have lining the streets.
With photographs of historic sites matched by contemporary views, the book, dedicated to past Historical Society of Princeton Director Gail Stern (1950-2006), is at times heartbreaking to peruse: What were they ever thinking when they razed the old observatory and Victorian residence on Washington Road for Robertson Hall? How could they have torn down Upper Pyne, in all its Tudor splendor? Was 1963 the year town planners went nuts, demolishing architectural gems in favor of large, clean, squarish, sleek buildings?
"It’s encouraging to see what’s still with us," says Mr. Smith, who works as program administrator for the department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. "The four corners of Nassau and Harrison streets still have the small buildings as they did in the 1700s, and Morven is so beautifully refurbished…"
Born in 1949, Mr. Smith, who grew up in Montgomery, has seen many changes in Princeton, but he cherishes what has been preserved, such as Lower Pyne, the "sister" of Upper Pyne, handsomely refurbished. "I remember the Princeton Playhouse (in Palmer Square) how many movies did I see there as a kid? But it fell victim to the economic climate of (multiplexes replacing single-screen movie theaters). Now I eat dinner at Mediterra restaurant (in that space) and am building memories there."
Using the resources of HSP (the society will receive half of all royalties in exchange), Mr. Smith set up photocopies of the historic images on a clipboard, along with notes, and found the same spot to make his pictures. "I also want to credit Wanda Gunning and Constance Greiff for their knowledge of Princeton history," he says. "You could plunk them down in (a random year in Princeton’s past) and they could name the people they see."
In some cases, we see how little has changed, such as a 25-year-old image of Toto’s Market on Witherspoon Street and a present-day image of Witherspoon Bread Co. in the same spot. Even the tree looks identical, and except for the signage and addition of shutters, it could be the same time period.
Mr. Smith remembers when smaller markets dominated in Princeton, and were eventually replaced by supermarkets in, for example, the Princeton Shopping Center. It is interesting to note how this "California-style" mall was at first resented because it was so large, but has now become a "classic" as big box stores loom on U.S. 1.
Lahiere’s, once the only game in town for fine dining, has since been joined by a plethora of fine restaurants, and the profusion of coffee shops and sushi restaurants is a recent phenomenon.
Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve has benefited from the mindset of keeping land open for passive recreational use. Its lake was once used for ice making in the days before refrigeration. "The changing of Nassau Street from a dirt road, once used by stage coaches, to a paved road fascinates me," says Mr. Smith.
We still see history in the making. University Medical Center at Princeton, once a small hospital inside a farmhouse on Witherspoon Street, is planning its move to Plainsboro; the Herban Garden behind Mediterra is seeking a new home as condos will replace it; and the Dinky will move yet again as the new University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts paves the way for its home.
"The old Bickford Building at 116 Nassau St., which for many years housed Woolworths, will soon be home to a new textbook store," says Mr. Smith. Sadly, Micawber Books, Princeton’s independent bookstore, is no longer part of Princeton’s literary landscape.
Mr. Smith defends the development made by the university and town planners, stating how more modern buildings were needed to expand and survive, and in the case of the Woodrow Wilson School, the endowment was there to do it. Peyton Hall has a bigger astrophysics department and a larger telescope.
Many of the buildings bought up by Edgar Palmer to make way for Palmer Square in the 1930s were dilapidated and fire hazards, according to Mr. Smith. "I saw records in the HSP collection that the fire insurance would be steep (to maintain these older houses)," he says. "Palmer Square gave Princeton its village green, and it helped to provide jobs."
Original architectural renderings for Palmer Square show more ornate buildings than what we see today. "They went for more simple, modern, easier-to-build designs so they could build more for less," says Mr. Smith.
If some of what has been lost is too sad to bear, one must think of the trees. Although the Princeton Elm and the Mercer Oak are now history, we have many more trees than in the 1800s, Mr. Smith says. He points to page 55 in the book, where we see a 1908 "development" of Tudor houses, looking just like the newly planted houses in a Toll Brothers development today, with rectilinear sidewalks, freshly turned soil and no trees. But in Mr. Smith’s recent picture of the same neighborhood, enormous trees have taken over! Even the sidewalk, once a straight line, has been made sinuous.
In some cases, Mr. Smith says, he couldn’t even shoot his pictures at the same angle as the historic images, because so many trees were in the way.
If he could be plunked down in Princeton in a time of his choosing, which would it be? "I would like to visit the late 1890s it was a vibrant time and I’d also want to see the Colonial period after the American Revolution, when Congress met here. But right now is a wonderful time in Princeton," says Mr. Smith. "The town and the university are doing well. There are problems with traffic, but we’re trying to address them. With its coffee shops and businesses I would hate to leave."
Princeton: Then & Now is available at Bainbridge House, Historical Society of Princeton, 158 Nassau St., Princeton, at area bookstores or online at www.arcadiapublishing.com