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5. Palmer Stadium and Other Facilities

Palmer Stadium during football game (1921)

Palmer Stadium during football game (1921)

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, LP 5

The years between the turn of the century and the World War I saw the construction of several additions to Princeton's athletic facilities. The most notable of these was Palmer Stadium, built in 1914. Donated by Edgar Palmer, Class of 1903, this horseshoe-shaped stadium was erected on the open ground to the south of Prospect Avenue. In its original configuration, it seated 41,000 fans.


Palmer Stadium shortly before completion (1914)

Palmer Stadium shortly before completion (1914)

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, MP 57

Designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh, the architect of Palmer Physical Laboratory, Palmer Stadium married Collegiate Gothic ornamentation with the classical Greek plan. Its northern end featured a pair of Gothic entrance towers, and around the exterior structure ran a series of tall, narrow arches.

To keep costs down, the stadium was built of reinforced concrete instead of masonry. This was also its undoing. Because of extensive deterioration of the concrete, Palmer Stadium was demolished following the 1996 football season.


Class of 1886 Golf Club

Class of 1886 Golf Club

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, MP 64

Other athletic facilities built in this era included the Class of 1886 Golf Club (1903), overlooking the links to the west of the campus; ...


Fitzpatrick Field House

Fitzpatrick Field House

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, MP 35

... the Fitzpatrick Field House (1914), also designed by Hardenbergh; ...


Class of 1887 Boat House

Class of 1887 Boat House

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, MP 4

... the Class of 1887 Boat House (1913) and Lake Carnegie itself (1906), a shallow body of water 800 feet wide and three miles long, created by damming the Millstone River at Kingston.


Princeton University Press

Princeton University Press

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, MP 59

The university also added a variety of other facilities at this time. Faculty housing for the new preceptors went up in the Broadmead development east of the eating clubs, while the headquarters of the Princeton University Press, on William Street, was built in 1911 by Ernest Flagg.