Palmer House in business after two-year renovation

On the corner of Nassau Street and Bayard Lane stands Palmer House, the official guest home of the University. In early October, the University reopened the house after an extensive two-year period of renovations. Now, professors, trustees and other guests of the University can be accommodated in its elegant and comfortable surroundings.

In 1990, the University asked Holt Morgan Russell to undertake the renovation of Palmer House. The main purpose was to upgrade the building to meet current accessibility and life-safety codes and to meet current hotel and inn standards, including the installation of a central air-conditioning system and private baths for each room, Ehrler said.

The yellow brick house holds nine newly designed guest rooms with double beds, private baths, voice mail, e-mail connections, cable, TV, fax capabilities and other amenities. It also holds a formal dining room, a solarium where guests can enjoy a continental breakfast and a library reserved for their use.

Palmer House offers overnight accommodations only for official guests of the University, but hosts many private catered events for staff and faculty as well as non-University groups. Academic departments also use the historic building as the site for all-day conferences.

Designed and built by Charles Steadman in 1823, Palmer House was a wedding gift to Henrietta Marie Potter from her father. The house remained in the Potter family until 1880, at which point it was sold. The property then changed hands several times until 1923 when it was purchased by Edgar Palmer, Princeton Class of 1903, according to Marilou Ehrler — an architect with Holt Morgan Russell who managed the renovation.

In 1968, the Palmer family donated the house to the University. At the time, Palmer House hosted several University guests, but because of lack of air-conditioning, wheel-chair accessibility, private bathrooms and other modern conveniences, the house was never very busy and remained somewhat empty for a number of years, according to Mary Jane Miller, manager of Palmer House.

Because Palmer House is located in a historic district of the Borough, exterior changes were limited and the outside of the house as seen from the street remains unchanged.

"The major historical renovation was the addition of the entrance on the east facade of the building which faces away from Nassau Street," Ehrler said.

The University hired Ruth Sommers of Chapman Radcliff Interiors in New York to redecorate the house. The furniture collection she assembled was meant to resemble that of a family and not of a museum, according to Ehrler.

"They wanted to make it as charming as possible, bring it back to the beauty of the era, but also to modernize it with all of the amenities," Miller said.

Faculty and administrators said they have heard positive reports about the newly renovated building. "I have received only positive feedback," said mathematics professor Scott Kenney. "People have said that they like it better than the Nassau Inn, that it is like staying in a country inn and has all the comforts."

Special Assistant to the President Ann Halliday said University trustees who have stayed in the Palmer House have enjoyed the experience. "The improvements of the past summer really enhanced the stay for them," she said.