page_title: Palmer Square
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Palmer Square / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Baker's Alley in Princeton, New Jersey looking south toward Nassau Street c. 1925, a historic African-American neighborhood that was demolished to make way for Palmer Square.
context_page_description: Palmer Square is a public square and planned development in the heart of Princeton, New Jersey across from Nassau Street and Princeton University that today forms a collection of shops, restaurants, offices and residential spaces.
context_section_description: Originally built from 1936 to 1939 by Edgar Palmer, heir to the New Jersey Zinc fortune, the Square was created by architect Thomas Stapleton in the Colonial Revival style as the town's complement to Princeton University, which sits directly across Nassau Street from the Square.
  In order to build the original Square, Baker Street was removed in 1929 and its houses, the center of the original African-American neighborhood of Princeton, were moved to Birch Avenue. Construction of the Square was delayed until 1936 by the depression, and plans to extend the Square past Hulfish Street were put on hold after the initial phase of construction was completed, and were not realized until the 1980s, along with an expansion of the Nassau Inn.
  The Nassau Inn, which was formerly located directly on Nassau Street, was the centerpiece of the development. A small park sits in front of the Inn, which includes the Borough's Christmas tree. Between the park and Nassau Street, a smaller square holds a bronze statue of a tiger.
  Thomas Stapleton assembled a variety of styles including a bit of old Newport, Philadelphia, Annapolis and Williamstown. The plan of the Square however is a mini-version Rockefeller Center. The early plans for Rockefeller Center contemplated an Opera House at the end while Palmer had the Playhouse Movie Theater.
  Edgar Palmer's vision was to provide jobs during the depression and create a fully integrated mixed-use downtown that would act as a commercial complement to Princeton University. The plans included the playhouse, the Princeton Post Office, and even the Borough Hall, though this structure was never built.
  Over 75 years the different components of Palmer Square have come together, with a new addition or component being added approximately every decade since the 1930s.
caption: Baker's Alley looking south toward Nassau Street c. 1925, an historic African-American neighborhood displaced by Palmer Square
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