Princeton, New Jersey

See also: Princeton Township, New Jersey and Borough of Princeton, New Jersey

Nassau Street, Princeton's main street.

Princeton, New Jersey is located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Princeton University has been sited in the town since 1756. Although Princeton is a "college town", there are other important institutions in the area, including the Institute for Advanced Study, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Opinion Research Corporation, Siemens Corporate Research, Sarnoff Corporation, FMC Corporation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton Theological Seminary, Westminster Choir College, Church and Dwight, Berlitz International, and Dow Jones & Company.

The town is roughly equidistant between New York and Philadelphia. Princeton has been home to New York commuters (via Princeton Junction) since the end of World War II. The town is close to many major highways that can take residents to both cities. While the Amtrak ridetime is similar to each city, the more usual commuter train ride to New York via the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line, is generally much shorter than the equivalent train ride to Philadelphia, which involves a transfer to SEPTA trains in Trenton. Princeton receives TV and radio from both cities.

New Jersey's State capital is the city of Trenton, but the Governor's official residence has been in Princeton since 1945, when Morven in the borough became the first Governor's mansion. It was later replaced by the larger Drumthwacket, a larger colonial mansion located in the township. Morven became a museum property of the New Jersey Historical Society.

Princeton was named #15 of the top 100 towns in the United States to Live and Work In by Money Magazine in 2005.

Although residents of Princeton (Princetonians) traditionally have a strong community-wide identity, legally there is not one municipality, but two: a township and a borough. The central borough is completely surrounded by the township. The Borough seceded from the Township in 1894 in a dispute over school taxes; the two municipalities later formed the Princeton Regional Schools, and some other public services are conducted together. There have been three referenda proposing to reunite the two Princetons, but they have all been narrowly defeated. The Borough contains Nassau Street, the main commercial street, most of the University campus, and incorporated most of the urban area until the postwar suburbanization. Borough and Township now have roughly equal populations, together approaching 30,000.

United States Postal Zip Codes for Princeton include 08542 (largely the Borough), 08544 (the University), and 08540. The latter covers areas outside Princeton proper, including portions of Lawrence, Hopewell, and West Windsor Townships in Mercer County, Montgomery and Franklin Townships in Somerset County, and Plainsboro and South Brunswick Townships in Middlesex County. The resulting ambiguity is exploited by local real estate agents who will often advertise a property in these neighboring communities as having a "prestigious Princeton address". Further adding to confusion is the spread of "Princeton" as part of business, church and residential development even further beyond the boundaries of the Township and Borough. Princeton lies at latitude 40°21' North, longitude 74°40' West.

Education

Colleges and universities

Princeton University, located in both the borough and the township and in West Windsor Township, serves as a prominent feature of Princeton.

Westminster Choir College, part of Rider University, is located in the Borough.

Princeton Theological Seminary's academic campus is located in the Borough, and a residential campus is located just outside the Township in West Windsor Township.

The Institute for Advanced Study is in the Township and maintains extensive land holdings (the "Institute Woods") in the Township.

Mercer County Community College in West Windsor is the nearest public college to serve Princeton residents.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Princeton High School

The six public schools of the Princeton Regional Schools district serve both the borough and the township: four elementary schools (Community Park, Johnson Park, Littlebrook and Riverside), John Witherspoon Middle School, and Princeton High School. In the early 1990s, redistricting occurred between the Community Park and Johnson Park School districts, as the population within both districts had increased due to residential development. Concerns were also raised about the largely white, wealthy student population attending Johnson Park and the more racially and economically diverse population at Community Park. As a result of the redistricting, the wealthy Hodge Road/Library Place neighborhood was redistricted to CP, and portions of the racially diverse John Witherspoon Neighborhood were set to be bused to JP. The high school is located in the borough; the other schools are in the township. The high school also serves students from Cranbury Township as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

The Princeton Charter School (grades K-8) is located in the township. The school operates under a charter granted by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education. The school is a public school that operates independently of the Princeton Regional Schools, and is funded on a per student basis by locally-raised tax revenues.

Private schools

Several private schools are located in the Township: American Boychoir School, Hun School of Princeton, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Day School, Princeton Friends School, and Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart.

St Paul School and The Lewis School and Diagnostic Clinic are located in the Borough.

Schools that are outside the Township and Borough but have Princeton mailing addresses include Chapin School and Princeton Junior School in Lawrence Township, the Waldorf School of Princeton and Princeton Montessori School in Montgomery Township, and Eden Institute in West Windsor Township.

Public libraries

The Princeton Public Library, located in the borough, serves the borough and the township. The facility was opened in April 2004 as part of the on-going downtown redevelopment project taking shape and replaced a building dating from 1966. The library itself was founded in 1909.

Sister Cities

Colmar, France

Noteworthy Princetonians

See also: List of Princeton University alumni and faculty, List of Princeton Theological Seminary faculty and alumni, List of faculty members at the Institute for Advanced Study, and List of Westminster Choir College alumni

Note: this list does not include people whose only time in Princeton was as a student. Only selected faculty are shown, whose notability extends beyond their field into popular culture. See Faculty and Alumni lists above.

• Samuel Davies Alexander, (1819–1894), born in Princeton, noted Presbyterian clergyman and author
• Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of Joseph Stalin, defected to United States and lived in Princeton.
• John Altman (1952-), mystery writer.
• Trey Anastasio (1964-), of the band Phish. Anastasio lived in Princeton with his family and attended Princeton Day School, before attending the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and later the University of Vermont.
• Milton Babbitt, composer and Princeton University professor.
• Chris Barron, lead singer of the Spin Doctors, grew up in Princeton, attended Princeton High School.
• Molly Bang, children's book illustrator, born in Princeton.
• Saul Bellow, writer and Princeton University professor.
• Paul Benacerraf, philosopher and Princeton University professor.
• Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve, Princeton University professor.
• Michael Bradley, soccer player, born in Princeton.
• George Harold Brown (1908-1987), Research Engineer at RCA, lived in Princeton.
• Aaron Burr (1756-1836), Third Vice President of the United States (under Thomas Jefferson); killed Alexander Hamilton in duel, grew up in Princeton and buried there.
• Aaron Burr, Sr. (1715-1757), co-founder of Princeton University and its second president.
• Sim Cain (1963-), drummer for Rollins Band, grew up in Princeton.
• Frances Folsom Cleveland, First Lady, died in and buried in Princeton.
• Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), 22nd and 24th President of the United States, retired to, died in, and buried in Princeton.
• Ruth Cleveland, Daughter of Grover and Frances Cleveland born between Cleveland's two terms in office. Died at age 12 and buried at Princeton Cemetery.
• Chris Conley, lead singer of Saves the Day, born and grew up in Princeton.
• Mary Chapin Carpenter, country/folk singer, born and grew up in Princeton.
• Whitney Darrow, Jr, New Yorker cartoonist, born in Princeton.
• Freeman Dyson, theoretical physicist and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
• Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalist Church theologian and Princeton University's third president.
• Albert Einstein, physicist, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
• Charles Evered, playwright/screenwriter and director, resident of Princeton.
• Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and president of Ricks College, born in Princeton.
• Richard Ford, writer, taught at Princeton University and has written several books set in a fictionalized Princeton.
• George Gallup, Statistician and creator of the Gallup poll, lived and is buried in Princeton.
• Kurt Gödel, Austrian-American logician, mathematician and philosopher, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
• Michael Graves, architect, lives and works in Princeton.
• Ethan Hawke (attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, graduated from The Hun School.
• Joseph Hewes, signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Princeton.
• Charles Hodge, theologian and Principal of Princeton Theological Seminary.
• Robert Wood Johnson II, Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, and his wife Basia Johnson, lived in Princeton.
• Indiana Jones, movie and television character, born in Princeton but attended University of Chicago.
• George F. Kennan, diplomat, historian, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
• Chang-Rae Lee, writer, Princeton University professor.
• Hallie Lampert, noted photographer and director
• John Lithgow, actor, lived in Princeton in his late teens.
• Henry Martin, New Yorker cartoonist, lived and worked in Princeton.
• John McPhee, writer, lives in Princeton.
• Lyle and Erik Menendez, murderers, grew up in Princeton.
• Toni Morrison, writer, Princeton University professor.
• John Forbes Nash, Jr., mathematician, subject of A Beautiful Mind, Princeton University professor.
• Bebe Neuwirth, actress, grew up in Princeton.
• Joyce Carol Oates, writer, Princeton University professor.
• John O'Hara, writer, lived and is buried in Princeton.
• Charles Smith Olden, governor of New Jersey during the American Civil War, born and buried in Princeton.
• J. Robert Oppenheimer theoretical physicist, director of the Institute for Advanced Study
• Christopher Reeve, actor, grew up in Princeton
• Paul Robeson, singer, actor, athlete, civil rights activist, born and grew up in Princeton
• Ralph Schoenstein, writer, lived in Princeton up to his death.
• Roger Sessions, composer, Princeton University professor, died in Princeton
• Andrew Shue, actor and professional soccer player, grew up in central New Jersey with sister, actress Elisabeth Shue, lives in Princeton.
• Michael Showalter, comedian, actor, writer, and director, born in Princeton, attended Princeton High School.
• Barbara Boggs Sigmund, mayor of Princeton.
• Peter Singer, bioethicist, Princeton University professor.
• Betsey Stockton, educator and missionary, manumitted from slavery and later retired to and died in Princeton.
• John P. Stockton, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, lived in Princeton.
• Richard Stockton (1730-1781), signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, lived in Princeton, buried in Princeton.
• Richard Stockton (1764–1828), U.S. Senator from New Jersey, lived in Princeton.
• Robert Stockton, United States Navy commodore, first territorial governor of California, lived in Princeton.
• Jon Tenney, actor, born and grew up in Princeton.
• Andrew Wiles, mathematician who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, Princeton University professor.
• Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, 13th president of Princeton University and Governor of New Jersey
• John Witherspoon, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, president of Princeton University.
• Boris Zubry, author, poet, inventor, educator, lives in Princeton.

• All of the members of Blues Traveler, as well as Chris Barron (see above) are from Princeton and were high school friends.
• All sitting New Jersey governors since 1945 have had their official residence in Princeton, first at Morven and since 1982 at Drumthwacket, but not all have actually lived in these houses.

Princeton in popular culture

See also: Princeton University in fiction

Film

Princeton was the setting of the Academy Award-winning A Beautiful Mind about the schizophrenic mathematician John Nash. It was largely filmed in central New Jersey, including some Princeton locations.

The 1994 film I.Q., featuring Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, and Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein, was also set in Princeton, and was filmed in the area. It includes some geographic stretches, including Matthau looking through a telescope from the roof of "Princeton Hospital" to see Ryan and Robbins' characters kissing on the Princeton Battlefield.

Historical films which used Princeton as a setting but were not filmed there include Wilson, a 1944 biographical film about Woodrow Wilson.

Scenes from the beginning of "Across the Universe" (2007) were filmed on the Princeton University campus.

Parts of Transformers 2 were filmed in Princeton.

TV and radio

The 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, is set partly in nearby Grover's Mill, and includes a fictional professor from Princeton University as a main character, but the action never moves directly into Princeton.

The TV show House is located in Princeton, at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and establishing shots for the hospital display the Frist Campus Center of Princeton University.

The 1980 television miniseries Oppenheimer is partly set in Princeton.

Literature

F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary debut, This Side of Paradise, is a loosely autobiographical story of his years at Princeton University.

Princeton University's Creative Writing program includes several nationally and internationally prominent writers, making the town a hub of contemporary literature.

Many of Richard Ford's novels are set in Haddam, New Jersey, a fictionalized Princeton.

Joyce Carol Oates 2004 novel Take Me, Take Me With You (written pseudonymously as Lauren Kelly) is set in Princeton.

Points of interest

• American Boychoir School
• The D&R Canal State Park
• Drumthwacket
• Forrestal Village
• Herrontown Woods Arboretum
• Hun School of Princeton
• Institute for Advanced Study and Institute Woods
• Lake Carnegie
• McCarter Theatre
• Morven
• Nassau Hall
• Palmer Square
• Princeton Battlefield State Park
• Princeton Cemetery
• Princeton Day School
• Princeton High School
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• Princeton Record Exchange
• Princeton Theological Seminary
• Princeton University
• Princeton University Art Museum
• Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery
• Stuart Country Day School
• The Washington Oak
• Westminster Choir College

Sources

• Clark, Ronald W. (1971) Einstein: The Life and Times. ISBN 0-380-44123-3
• Gambee, Robert. (1987) "Princeton" ISBN 0-393-30433-7

See also

• centraljersey.com
• Town Topics

External links

• Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau

• Princeton Township Municipal Web Site (Government)
• The Princeton Packet (Local Newspaper)
• Princeton Online (Local Online Community)
• Princeton Regional Schools
• School Performance Reports for the Princeton Regional Schools, New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Princeton Regional Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Guide to Princeton Area
• Photographic tour of Princeton Cemetery.