51 Prospect Avenue • Princeton, NJ 08540 • Telephone

51 Prospect Avenue • Princeton, NJ 08540 • Telephone (609) 921-6137 • FAX (609) 921-3050
[email protected] • www.CottageClub.net
A Brief History
of the Origin of Eating Clubs
■During the 18th century there was a very
rigid academic curriculum and Spartan living
conditions. There was no sewer or water supply
in town or on campus.
■The college barely reached Washington Road.
Prospect Avenue didn’t exist until 1880.
■In the early 19th century all meals were served
at the college. In 1855 there was a fire at Nassau
Hall, which caused the college to discontinue
meal service entirely. This forced the students
to make their own arrangements for dining at
boarding houses, at Dohm’s Tavern and at the
University Hotel. These meals (bread, butter,
and milk) were not up to the standard to which
the increasing number of affluent students
were accustomed. This prompted students to
search out rooming houses and pay locals to
provide meals.
The Club’s Early Quarters, Occupied 1886-1892. The old “University
Cottage” on University Place was afterwards tenanted by Tiger Inn,
but was moved to make way for Hamilton Hall, and now stands in
remodelled condition at 144 Library Place.
The 1892 Clubhouse
■In 1879 Ivy formed. In 1886 the second
permanent eating club was organized. They
called themselves, ‘The Seven Wise Men of
Grease’, and rented a house known as The
University Cottage on University Place and
arranged for their own catering.
■In 1889 The University Cottage Club was
incorporated.
■In 1891 The College of New Jersey tried to
establish a common eating hall but it was
not embraced by the students because of the
substandard offerings.
■In 1892 the members decided that they required
a larger space and they felt it was best to build
their own house. They chose the newly formed
Prospect Street, across from the Ivy Club. A
wood framed, shingle style Victorian house was
built on this site and served them well for a
decade until there was a need for more space.
1892
was a very monumental year for Cottage.
Not only did they purchase the property
on Prospect and build their shingle style Victorian, but
it was also the year that the interlocking UCC insignia
was adopted AND the Cottage colors – burgundy, gold
and black – were selected. The 17th Lancers Regiment
of England granted exclusively to Cottage under special
arrangements made by George Trotter class of 1891 to use
their colors as the Cottage Club colors. The colors are
worn with great pride at all formal functions. Men
wear a Cottage ‘flag’ tie and women wear the
Cottage scarf.
■In 1896 The College of New Jersey was renamed
Princeton University.
■In 1903 Cottage Club commissioned world
renowned architect, Charles Follen McKim
to design a larger clubhouse. McKim had
designed the University Club in NY, with which
they were all familiar, in addition to several
other noteworthy, Gilded Age clubs – Century,
Metropolitan and Union League in
Philadelphia and the Newport Casino in
Newport, RI.
■A December 12, 1903, Board of Governors
report states, ‘the sketches here within have the
official sanction of Woodrow Wilson, the President
of the University.’ McKim chose to use Georgian
Revival style for the building. This was the
first example in Princeton. It has continued
to be a style used by Princetonians into the
20th century.
■Cottage wanted a stylistic distinction between
their new club and Ivy, so McKim gave it a
monumental façade, but set it back 65 feet
creating an area where one leaves the public
realm before entering the building. At the
threshold, he placed a lantern half in and half
out of the fanlight to signify the continuity
between exterior and interior. Oval windows
and railing details were taken from the first
Cottage building. It also included white, marble
quoining, strong stone base and detailed
brackets at the eaves.
■The large oak trees in the front yard were
planted approximately 50 years ago by the
1954 Section.
Cottage Archives
GALLERY
■Construction was completed in 1906 but the
custom interiors were completed in later years.
McKim felt that the interiors should preserve
the privacy and comfort that the sons of
New York club members might expect.
■The plan is closest to that of an Italian villa.
The courtyard is the focus of the plan and all
primary rooms on the ground floor open to the
courtyard.
■McKim’s perfection is evident in the proportions
and details throughout.
■All of the oak paneling and stone floor are
imported from England.
■Morant & Company supplied the paneling
and modeled it on the measured details from
Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. The
woodwork over the fireplace is an adaptation of
a carving in the South Kensington Museum.
DINING ROOM
■This is the main Club room on the ground floor.
Designed to be similar to the Club room at the
University Club in New York, but one quarter of
the size. Most Princeton men of that era were
closely connected with the University Club.
■The Dining Room – where all meals are served
– was originally served by waiters and each
member was greeted by name upon entering.
■The Kitchen is located on the second floor
(common club design in the early 1900’s to
keep heat from cooking elements away from the
diners) and is linked to the dining room and
serving pantry via elevator and dumbwaiter
■Wood and plaster ceiling details were added in
1916 by the architect.
■The dining room boasts of three fireplaces.
■Fireplace mottos:
First – ‘They Take the Sun from the World Who Take
Friends from Life.’
Middle – ‘Ubi Amici Ibidem Sunt Opes’
(“Where there are friends there are riches”)
Last – ‘Out of Many Make One’
PALMER ROOM
■This room was originally the Billiards Room,
hence the ceiling divisions and trim work. This
accented the elongated shape of the pool tables.
■The oak paneling was added in 1948.
■In his 1994 publication, Club Life at Princeton,
William Selden writes, ‘Although the interior of
the Clubhouse was not finished for several years, the
building has been recognized from the beginning as a
significant architectural contribution, and has been
consistently maintained with great pride and solicitous
care by its members.’
■Edgar Palmer (1903) –
His father, Stephen S. Palmer,
originally committed $65,000 as
a challenge for the construction of
the new Club with the provision
that $35,000 be raised by the
members. Members raised much
more than this, and Palmer was
so impressed that he increased his
donation to $110,000. Mr. Palmer
wanted only the best for his only son. Some examples
are the use of solid white marble columns, white marble
banding and quoining.
TIGER ROOM
■Originally called the Reading Room – it has
become known as the Tiger Room.
■Over the years this room has been used for
music, after dinner coffee and card games. It
is now used for student discussions and quiet
study.
RED ROOM
■Originally called the Smoking room. Painted the
main Cottage color – Burgundy.
■One of the main features is the classical screen
that divides the library and the writing room.
McKim placed the carved triple arch on a flat
entablature, rather than on its own supporting
arch as at Merton.
■On exhibit, are the music sheets written by
Cottage members for the Princeton Cannon Song
and The Guard of Old Nassau.
■Most recently, Paramount’s 1994 movie I.Q.
was filmed around Princeton and scouts chose
the library for many of the scenes with Walter
Matthau, Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins and actors
playing Einstein’s friends. They were filmed in
the Writing Room.
■On September 14, 1999 the Club was entered
onto the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
■On November 15, 1999 University Cottage Club
was added to the National Historic Register
of Historic Places based on the architectural
structure of the building, high degree of historic
integrity, and significant cultural contributions
to the community.
■These recognitions will help to preserve
and protect this historic treasure for future
generations.
LIBRARY
■The library is the most impressive room at
Cottage and modeled after the 14th century
Merton Library at Oxford. All library oak
was also supplied by Morant and Company in
London. (the same dealer that supplied all
of the Gallery wood) McKim measured the
original library at Merton and made modern
adjustments to fit the library space.
SECOND FLOOR
HALLWAY
■The hallway memorializes Cottage history with
various photos of the Clubhouse in its original
states of rental property humility and eventually
the grandiose McKim Georgian revival splendor
that we have come to know as Cottage.
■The first photo on the left is of the first Cottage
building rented in 1886 on University Place
(the Building was subsequently moved to be a
residence at 144 Library Place.)
■The second photo shows the 1892 Cottage
building (on Prospect Avenue), which, over
time, also housed four other clubs in their
beginning stages, and was affectionately named
“The Incubator.”
■The ‘SEVEN WISE MEN OF GREASE’ are the
original founders of the University Cottage Club.
W
e consider all of our members noteworthy. A few
prominent individuals include: Edgar Palmer ’03,
Breckenridge Long ’03, John Foster Dulles ’08, Dean
Mathey ’12, James Forrestal ’15, F. Scott Fitzgerald ’17,
(he began his novel “This Side of Paradise” in the UCC
library), Livingston T. Merchant ’26, Henry R. Labouisse
’26, Leonard K. Firestone ’33, Jose Ferrer ’35, John N.
Irwin ’37, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach ’43, Gov. Brendan T.
Byrne ’49, Richard W. Kazmaier, Jr. ’52, Sen. Christopher
S. Bond ’60, Sen. William W. Bradley ’65, Sen. William
Frist ’74 and Pulitzer Prize winners John McPhee ’53 and
A. Scott Berg ’71. Honorary members include: Grover
Cleveland, Admiral George Dewey and Woodrow Wilson.
Over the years fifteen members have been Rhodes Scholars.
Women were admitted in 1986.Today, as in the past, the
Club’s purpose is not only to be a gathering place for meals
and friendship, but also a sanctuary to study, relax and
enhance the quality of life for its current members, alumni
and their guests.
BILLIARDS ROOM
■The Billiards Room is a more casual space
than formal rooms of the ground floor and
library. It was originally called the Club Room
(and was on the ground floor.) The early Club
members desired a less formal space, and
eventually the second floor was seen as the area
that would be most comfortable. It seems that
the dignity of McKim’s interiors were at first a
little overwhelming to the college students and
their older brothers. The pocket doors allowed
them to close themselves off from the rest of the
Clubhouse and made the space feel cozier when
fraternizing in small groups.
I
n the early 1980s various Boards recognized that
time was taking its toll on the building structure and
renovation, restoration and refurbishment was required.
Architects were hired and a long range detailed plan
(Preservation Plan) was created to bring Cottage up to the
elegance of its original creation. This included such areas
as courtyard piping and patio restoration, exterior brick
and marble cleaning and re-pointing, ceilings repaired and
re-plastered, wood paneling stripped and repaired; as well
as upgrading the building with a fire suppression system
and compliance with current building code requirements.
COURTYARD
■The design of the rear façade maximizes
the southern exposure and extends into the
landscape. Imagine the views of the early 1900’s,
when you could see clearly to the Stony Brook
and newly formed Carnegie Lake.
■F. Scott Fitzgerald, Class of 1917, is perhaps the
person most popularly associated with Cottage
Club. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, which
is autobiographical, was started in the library
upstairs. In it he mentions the Club… “June came
and the days grew so hot and lazy that they could not
worry even about exams, but spent dreamy evenings
on the court of Cottage, talking of long subjects until
the sweep of country toward Stony Brook became a
blue haze and the lilacs were white around the tennis
courts, and words gave way to silent cigarettes…”
■Pavilions were added, thru an anonymous
donation in 1966 and are dedicated to:
EAST Pavilion – John Foster Dulles, Valedictorian
1908 and Secretary of State 1953-1959
WEST Pavilion – James Forrestal, Class of 1915,
Secretary of the Navy 1944-1947, The nation’s
first Secretary of Defense 1947-1949
■The fountain is part of the original structure.
It is made of Pink Milford granite that was
June 08
imported from
Maine. It still
functions on a
daily basis and
was dedicated
on June 1,
2007 to Matty
Glinka, Cottage
Manager, from
1950-1980.
■The Courtyard’s Bronze Eagle was donated by
George Dewey class of 1896 to honor his father
Admiral George Dewey and his achievements in
the Spanish American War
■In the 1950’s the board decided to continue
the curbside brick wall around the perimeter of
the property. They got as far as the white gate
that leads into the back yard and found that it
was prohibitive to the Club budget to continue.
Labor and material costs had risen greatly. They
decided to continue to wrap the remaining area
in Holly trees.
M
aintenance of the Clubhouse and Grounds is ongoing.
The Summer (and during college “breaks”) is typically
when this is carried out. The Club has gone to great lengths
and expense to see that ongoing maintenance and required
upgrades are handled as sensitively as possible. The
membership is proud of Cottage’s “Historic” designation.