Cotsen Children's Library, www.princeton.edu/~cotsen/,
Firestone Library, Princeton University, 609-258-2697. The Cotsen
research collection is historical and international in scope,
including illustrated children's books and materials from the 15th
century to the present day. The public gallery is a unique reading
room and program venue. Visitors can explore Bookscape, a picturesque
environment with whimsical spaces to read, including a two-story
bonsai tree, and attend public programs, ranging from story hours
offered in many languages to performances by the Cotsen Players.
Children's books are available for reading in the
gallery, but they do not circulate. Open weekdays from 9 to 5 p.m.,
and on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., but closed on
holidays, and for special events. Most programs require advance
registration.
@$:In central New Jersey where historic sites are lined up like so
many pearls, Morven is a bead of a slightly different color, both
harmonizing with the Colonial treasure trove offered by Rockingham,
the Princeton Battlefield, Nassau Hall -- and offering something more.
Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his
wife, Annis Boudinot Stockton, began building Morven in the 1750s. The
site was originally part of a 5,000-acre tract purchased from William
Penn. By the time that the Continental Congress met, it was considered
a commodious house with four rooms on each floor.
In the 1790s, Richard "The Duke" Stockton, the signer's son, leveled
the house and remade the floor plan, changing the house from Georgian
to Federal style with bigger rooms and a wide central hall.
Robert Wood Johnson of Johnson & Johnson was here for 18 years, and
the state's governors lived here for 40 years. Now the mansion serves
as a backdrop for a museum celebrating New Jersey-based arts and
culture, with history galleries, rooms done up in period decor,
portrait collections, and exhibits of decorative arts.
Morven is situated in downtown Princeton on four park-like acres just
next to Princeton's borough hall. The house sits facing the main road,
Route 206 South, which was called Stockton Street at that point. A
brick courtyard connects the rear of the main house to the Wash House,
circa 1850, formerly servants' quarters and laundry, and now housing
museum staff on the upper floor. The gift shop is below. This spot
between the buildings serves as a staging area for house tours and
also leads into the gardens and back lawn.
Morven Museum and Garden, www.historicmorven.org, 55
Stockton Street, 609-924-8144. Open Wednesdays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to
3 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4 p.m., with tours at "quarter
after" the hour. Admission $5. Not recommended for children under age
eight. Gift shop.
Albert Einstein's house, 112 Mercer Street, a white frame
two-story house with large front porch in Greek revival style where
the physicist lived from the time he was ousted from his job by the
Nazis and joined the Institute for Advanced Study in 1933 until his
death in 1955. Not open to the public.
www.princetoninfo.com/einstein.html
Historical Society of Princeton, Bainbridge House, 158
Nassau Street, 609-921-6748. "Princeton Recollects" exhibition was
organized to celebrate the accomplishments of the Princeton History
Project. In the 1970s and 80s, the project was dedicated to collecting
and preserving memories, and publishing "The Princeton Recollector," a
monthly magazine. The exhibition includes original letters, documents,
and artifacts. Also an Einstein exhibit. Free. Gift shop. Museum is
open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Walking tours on Sundays
at 2 p.m., $7.
Drumthwacket, www.drumthwacket.org, Route 206,
609-683-0591.
Built in 1835 by Charles Olden, a Civil War governor, it has been
restored and furnished by the New Jersey Historical Society and is now
the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. Weekly tours
Wednesdays, noon to 2 p.m., by reservation only.
Woodrow Wilson's houses at 72 and 82 Library Place and 25
Cleveland Lane, not open to the public. As university president he
lived in Prospect House on campus. He was elected to be governor of
New Jersey, then in 1912 to the presidency of the United States.
Grover Cleveland's house Westland, 15 Hodge Road, not open
to the public. "Westland" had built for Caroline Stockton Dod in 1854
and Cleveland lived there from 1896 until his death in 1908.
Paul Robeson's House, 110 Witherspoon Street, at the
corner of Green Street, not open to the public. He left Princeton at
age eight, graduated from Rutgers and Columbia Law School, and was a
singer, actor, athlete, and activist. Robeson's father was the pastor
at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, Witherspoon and Quarry streets
(www.princetoninfo.com/199804/80408p02.html).
Springdale, 86 Mercer Street, built in 1846 by the
Stocktons and now occupied by the president of Princeton Theological
Seminary, Dr. and Mrs. Iain R. Torrance.
Rockingham, www.rockingham.net, General Washington's
headquarters, Route 603 outside of Kingston, 609-683-7132. Usually
open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, 1 to 4
p.m. Built in 1710, Rockingham is one site where George Washington
really did sleep. He and wife, Martha, lived here in 1783, while
Congress was convened five miles away in Nassau Hall. In the Blue Room
on the second floor he composed his "Farewell Address to the Armies."
Take Route 27 to Kingston, turn left on Route 603, and it's on the
left.
Thomas Clark House, 500 Mercer Street, in the 85-acre
Princeton Battlefield State Park, 609-921-0074. Usually open
Wednesday to Saturday, 10 to 12 and 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m..
After the Battle of Princeton, General Hugh Mercer died here; it is
furnished as a Quaker farmhouse during the Revolutionary War. The
expansive lawns by the Mercer Oak or by the Greek columns marking the
common grave are open to picnickers every day.
Society of Friends, Mercer Road and Quaker Road,
609-924-5674. The Quaker meeting house sheltered many of the wounded
in 1777. On the porch find a supply of historical leaflets. The
building dates from 1760 and many prominent Friends, including
Richard Stockton, were buried in the adjacent graveyard. Pass
Battlefield Park, continue on Mercer Street; it's on the left.
New Jersey Audubon Society's Plainsboro Preserve,
www.njaudubon.org, 80 Scotts Corner Road, Cranbury 08512, 609-897-9400
(www.njaudubon.org). Minutes from Princeton, this preserve is home to
a number of interesting plants and animals. Walk on the five miles of
trails, talk with a naturalist at the large nature center and gift
store, or just sit on the deck and enjoy the view of the 55-acre lake.
Hours vary according to season.
Grounds for Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton,
609-586-0616. A 22-acre landscaped sculpture park on the former state
fairgrounds site, with indoor exhibitions in the glass-walled, 10,000
square foot museum, and the renovated Domestic Arts Building.
The elegant restaurant Rat's is here, as is an Afghan bistro, Cafe
Kabul, and a cafe. Cost: Tuesday to Thursday, $5 ($1 for children),
Fridays and Saturdays, $8 (and $4), Sundays, $12 for any age.
Corrections or additions?
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