Existing comment:
The preservation and rebuilding here of this historic portico were due to the leadership of the architects of New Jersey in commemoration of the centennial year of the American Institute of Architecture in 1937. Thomas Ustick Walter (1804-88) was its architect. He was one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects and became its second president. His best known work is the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
This portico was created in 1836 for the residence of Mathew Newkirk in Philadelphia. It was moved to Princeton about 1900 and erected as the entrance of a house called Mercer Manor because it stood on the eastern edge of the Princeton Battlefield near the spot where General Mercer was mortally wounded in the engagement.
When it was necessary to demolish Mercer Manor in 1937, its owners, the Institute for Advanced Study, presented the portico to the State of New Jersey. |