Campus Attractions

Princeton welcomes visitors to its historic campus. Each year, the University hosts more than 550,000 visitors for major events and thousands more who are interested in the many educational, scholarly, cultural, recreational, and athletic activities that enrich the campus and its community.

Princeton does not approve campus use that interferes with its educational mission, and some activities are limited or restricted. Several University offices manage public use of the campus, including those listed below.

Community Services

Office of Conference & Event Services. The Office of Conference & Event Services coordinates visits to campus by outside organizations for meetings, workshops, and educational institutes as well as sports camps and other athletic activities, each year hosting more than 10,000 people on campus.

Princeton University Services. The Princeton University Services is a grouping of service units designed to provide and manage facilities, services, and programs that support the University’s educational mission and enhance the quality of life on campus. Among the service units, those that interact with the public most often are: TigerCard Parking, P-Rides Campus Shuttles, University Scheduling, University Ticketing, and the Frist Campus Center.

Office of Community and Regional Affairs (CRA). In conjunction with the Office of Conference & Event Services, CRA coordinates the use of University facilities by community, charitable, and governmental organizations. CRA also administers the Community Auditing Program (CAP) and the Program in Continuing Education, both of which are academic programs available to the greater community.

Community Auditing Program (CAP). Under the auspices of CRA, CAP enables members of the community to register to audit, or sit in on, lecture classes at the University for $120 per class. On average, 200 classes are available each semester for auditing. Approximately 750 area residents participate in the CAP program each semester. No credit or certification is given for CAP classes. However, certified teachers currently working in New Jersey may obtain written certification for classes they have audited.

Program in Continuing Education. Within this program, administered by CRA, individuals become officially registered students, pay full tuition for each course they take, and receive a transcript and credit that may be used toward a degree at another institution of higher learning. Teachers who are certified to teach in New Jersey may participate in this program at a greatly reduced fee.

Media Relations. Members of the media are permitted on campus through coordination with the media relations team in the Office of Communications. Still and broadcast photographers, for projects including commercial use, documentaries, films, and news, must seek and gain permission before working on campus. Photography for personal use is permitted on campus, as long as photographers gain permission from all people who appear identifiably in the photograph.

Tours and information. Student representatives from the Orange Key Guide Service offer tours of the historic main campus seven days a week throughout the year (foreign-language tours are also available). Tours of the Engineering Quadrangle, or E-Quad, are conducted by the School of Engineering and Applied Science weekdays during the academic year and by appointment in the summer. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) also offers tours by special arrangement. The Daily Princetonian, a student newspaper published weekdays when the University is in session, is a good source of events information. The Princeton Weekly Bulletin, the faculty/staff newspaper published by the Office of Communications for the University community, features a weekly events calendar. Also, the calendar, employment opportunities, virtual campus tour, and a wide range of up-to-date information about the University is available on the Web at www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/.

Open Facilities

• The Princeton University Art Museum offers a variety of programs for adults and children, both at the museum and in area schools, hospitals, and retirement homes.

• 185 Nassau Street houses the programs in creative writing, theater and dance, and visual arts, which host art shows, theatrical productions, and poetry and fiction readings.

• Princeton athletic events are open to the public, some at no charge, with season tickets available for basketball, football, and ice hockey. Athletic facilities are often available to residents of the community for modest fees.

• Lake Carnegie, which is owned by the University and serves as its intercollegiate rowing facility, is a popular community recreation area, providing a site for rowing, fishing, canoeing, and ice skating.

• The Princeton University Chapel, which seats nearly 2,000 people, offers religious services, musical performances, and other special events.

• Firestone Library offers access privileges to the public for modest fees. The public is welcome, without charge, to visit the Cotsen Children’s Library, at the main entrance to the library. Also open to the public are the exhibition gallery on the first floor and the second-floor gallery. The Rare Book Room and the Theater Arts Collection may be seen after signing in at the door.

• FitzRandolph Observatory sponsors open houses, with evening viewing through the 36-inch reflecting telescope. The Princeton Weekly Bulletin lists the dates, which vary from year to year, depending upon astronomical conditions.

• The Frist Campus Center is a world-class facility that offers opportunities for social and academic interactions, events, and programs. The general public utilizes the center’s Welcome Desk and uses its Orange Key campus tours, meeting and conference space, the Food Gallery, Café Vivian, the Healthy Eating Laboratory, and a branch of the Princeton University Store (or U-Store).

• The McCarter Theatre Center—home of the Matthews Acting Studio and the Berlind Theatre—offers drama, music, dance, film, and other events ranging from acrobatics to mime. It also hosts the annual show presented by student members of the Triangle Club.

• Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall hosts musical, dramatic, and other performances, most of them open to the public, and most for a fee.

• Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall hosts campus musical groups throughout the year, which are sponsored by the Friends of Princeton Music.

• Theatre Intime, a student-run facility, schedules dramatic productions throughout the academic year at Hamilton- Murray Theater. This theater is used in the summer by Princeton Summer Theater, for highly acclaimed productions, as well as special shows for children.

• The Department of Music sponsors free student concerts, Music-at-Noon, in the Woolworth Center.

Landmarks

• Nassau Hall, completed in 1756, is the oldest and only original building on campus.

• FitzRandolph Gate, the ornate entrance to Princeton’s campus from Nassau Street, was erected in 1905 and restored for its 100th birthday in 2005.

• The Class of 1879 Tigers have guarded the entrance to Nassau Hall since 1911, when they replaced the Class of 1879 Lions (which are now on display in Wilson College).

• Alexander Hall, completed in 1894, houses Richardson Auditorium, the premier performance venue on campus.

• Maclean House, constructed in 1756, was originally the residence of the president of the University. In 1968, when it became the home of the Alumni Council, it was renamed in honor of John Maclean Jr., founder of the Alumni Association.

• The Stamp Act Sycamores, the oldest trees on campus, were planted (according to legend) in commemoration of the Stamp Act’s repeal in March 1766.

• Prospect House, which for 90 years served as the home of the University president, now serves as the faculty and staff dining facility.

• Prospect Gardens, which lie behind Prospect House, were designed by Ellen Wilson, who lived there with her husband, Woodrow Wilson 1879, while he served as University president.

• Cleveland Tower, which flanks the main entrance of the Graduate College, was erected as a memorial to President Grover Cleveland, who, following his retirement from public life, was a trustee of the University and served as chair of the trustees’ graduate school committee.

• Lake Carnegie was created in 1906 by the construction of a dam at Kingston that impounded the confluence of the Stony Brook and the Millstone Rivers.