Home of the Tigers
Princeton University
Nassau Hall was the largest academic building in the American colonies when it opened in 1756, and in 1783 it served as the United States Capitol for four months.
- 5Buildings
- 3Traditions
- 1756Oldest · Nassau Hall
- 1948Newest · Firestone Library
Campus map and Look Around
Tap a numbered pin to see that building from the street with Apple Look Around.
Planning the visit
- Fly intoNewark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Newark is about an hour's drive north. NJ Transit trains run from the airport station to Princeton Junction, where the short shuttle train known as the Dinky continues to campus.
- Getting aroundWalking / NJ Transit Dinky
The campus is compact and green, and best seen on foot. The Dinky shuttle train links Princeton station with Princeton Junction on the main New York–Philadelphia line.
- Colors and teams
Nassau Hall is affectionately known as 'Old Nassau', a name that also belongs to the university's alma mater song.
5 buildings to stamp
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Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Nassau Hall
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Princeton's oldest building was the largest in colonial New Jersey when completed in 1756 and briefly served as the US Capitol in 1783. After fires it was rebuilt by Benjamin Latrobe and then John Notman, who added its cupola.
- Built
- 1756
- Architect
- Robert Smith; later Benjamin Latrobe and John Notman
- Style
- Georgian, remodelled Italianate
- Today
- University administration
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Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Princeton University Chapel
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Ralph Adams Cram's sandstone and limestone chapel evokes a small English cathedral, with a nave, transepts and four great stained-glass windows. When finished in 1928 its only rival in size among university chapels was King's College Chapel, Cambridge.
- Built
- 1928
- Architect
- Ralph Adams Cram
- Style
- Collegiate Gothic
- Height
- 37 m (121 ft)
- Today
- University chapel
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Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Firestone Library
1 Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ 08544
Princeton's main library, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, opened in 1948 in Collegiate Gothic dress to match the campus. It is the headquarters of a system holding more than seven million books.
- Built
- 1948
- Architect
- Robert B. O'Connor and Walter H. Kilham Jr.
- Style
- Collegiate Gothic
- Today
- University library
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Photo: Ilya Chugunov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Alexander Hall
Class of 1975 Walk, Princeton, NJ 08544
A rugged Richardsonian Romanesque hall finished in 1894, built to host commencement and now home to the 900-seat Richardson Auditorium and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra.
- Built
- 1894
- Architect
- William Appleton Potter
- Style
- Richardsonian Romanesque
- Today
- Concert hall
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Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Prospect House
Princeton University campus, Princeton, NJ 08544
John Notman's sandstone villa of 1851, with its three-story tower and bracketed eaves, helped popularize the Italianate style in America. Woodrow Wilson lived here as university president; today it is the faculty club.
- Built
- 1851
- Architect
- John Notman
- Style
- Italianate
- Today
- Faculty club
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3 traditions to check off
Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.
FitzRandolph Gate superstition
Campus legend says students who walk out through FitzRandolph Gate before graduation will not finish their degree, so undergraduates avoid it until Commencement. Visitors can see the gate on Nassau Street and decide for themselves which way to walk.
Arch sings at Blair Arch
Blair Arch, the largest arch on campus, is where many of Princeton's a cappella 'arch sings' take place. Stop under the arch to hear its echo, or catch a free evening concert.
Big Cannon on Cannon Green
A Revolutionary-era cannon has been buried muzzle-down on Cannon Green behind Nassau Hall since 1840, and it is slowly sinking. Visitors can see the exposed end; the green is also where the bonfire is lit when Princeton beats both Harvard and Yale in football.
Know Princeton University well?
Students and alumni know the traditions best. Suggest one we're missing, a building worth a stamp, or a fix. Every suggestion is checked against a source before it goes into the app.
Stamp all 5 on your visit.
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