Opening up a new window at Starbucks

The Princeton Starbucks, located at 100 Nassau Street, provides a welcome haven for coffee-craving students and late night study sessions. Starting this Tuesday night, however, patrons will likely find themselves looking up from their mochas and setting aside their studying to engage in a new Starbucks activity — staring at the window.

20 feet long and 10 feet high, this 'window' is composed not of glass and iron, but of color and canvas; designed by Abigail Bagley-Young '01, it is an award-winning mural depicting 100 years in the history of the Princeton community.

Bagley-Young, an art and archaeology major with a concentration in visual art, designed the mural in September for the "Starbucks Princeton: Rich in Tradition" mural contest.

The contest, sponsored by the Starbucks coffee company and open to all New Jersey residents, asked contestants to submit mural designs that incorporated both "Starbucks style" and "the flavor of Princeton."

Contestants competed both for the chance to have their creation permanently displayed on the wall at the front of the Nassau Street store as well as for a $1,000 prize.

Of the 12 entries that were evaluated on aspects such as originality, taste, visual appeal and overall skill in capturing the Starbucks/Princeton theme, Bagley-Young's design was voted the winner.

Elisa Venezia, Starbucks regional spokesperson, noted in a press release that Bagley-Young's mural "reflects the history of a town that has stayed true to itself throughout the past century."

The mural will be unveiled during a reception next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Venezia said this is the first mural design contest that Starbucks has sponsored in the tri-state area.

She said she hopes that the contest "will allow local residents to feel that we are bringing the community into the Princeton store."

The finished mural consists of a faux window pane divided into three sections, the first representing Princeton in 1900, the second of Princeton in 1950 and the third portraying Princeton in 2000.

The 1900 panel, painted in black and white, depicts a winter scene that includes a horse-drawn carriage and several townspeople.

In 1950, the mural changes from black and white to color and from winter to warm weather, depicting Albert Einstein contemplatively taking in the Nassau Street scene. The final panel illustrates modern Princeton students en route to class on a bright fall day.

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Bagley-Young's artistic talent has brought her success in addition to the Starbucks contest. She has designed logos for several independent companies, and her work has been featured in Kodak's exhibit, "Images of Who We Are." One of her drawings hangs in the Joseph Henry House.

Bagley-Young said two major influences on her art are her family and her extracurricular activities. She describes her mother, a breast cancer survivor, as "my hero" and draws inspiration from her for many works.

This past summer, she combined her talent for art with her spirit for service when she taught art at a school in Ghana as part of the Ghana Education Project.

Despite her successes, Bagley-Young says that she never imagined her design would adorn the Starbucks wall.

"I was inspired to enter the contest because it is my last year at Princeton and after an amazing four years, I really wanted to leave something behind for the University and town," she said. "Through the Starbucks mural contest, I found the opportunity to do so."