Tower Club
Tower Club | |
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    | |
| Location | 13 Prospect Ave, Princeton, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°20′51.7″N 74°39′14.3″W / 40.347694°N 74.653972°W |
| Built | 1917 |
| Architect | Roderick B. Barnes |
| Architectural style | Collegiate Gothic |
| Part of | Princeton Historic District (ID75001143[1]) |
| Added to NRHP | 27 June 1975 |
Princeton Tower Club is one of the eleven eating clubs at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, and one of six clubs to choose its members through a selective process called bicker. Tower is located at 13 Prospect Avenue between the university-run Campus Club and the Cannon Club. It currently has a membership of approximately 220.
Founded in 1903, the club moved several times before settling down at 13 Prospect Avenue in 1917.
History[edit]
In the spring of 1902, five Princeton students, John Lee, Henry Pogue, Otto Wolff, Conway Shearer, and Frank Little, led the formation of the new upperclassmen eating club, with a $400 stake placed in 1903.[2]
The club was formed in the old Monastery Club on University Place and totaled 26 members. The club moved to Gulick House on Olden Street and remained there for one year. In 1904, the club moved to a plot of land purhcased from the Cottage Club on 89 Prospect Avenue. The new building featured hot-air heating and was improved with new amenities, like a tennis court. The club moved again to the old building for Quadrangle club where it stayed for four years. The club then purchased a new plot of land at 13 Prospect Ave for $25,000. While a structure existed on the premises, there was a desire for a new structured. Designed by Princeton alum Roderic E. Barnes, the new building was constructed in 1917 and is the club's current location.[2]
In 1921, there was a fire at the club, mainly within the tower and repairs were rapidly undertaken. The club remained open during WWII, dropping to its lowest enrollment at 15 members, all of whom were ROTC officers. In 1971, Tower became one of the first clubs to accept women.[2]
Membership[edit]
Only currently enrolled Princeton students can be members of Tower Club; the majority of the membership is composed of juniors and seniors, with new sophomore members admitted each spring during "bicker," a selection process lasting three days.[3][4] Members then discuss who to admit.[3] There is also a bicker process held in September or October and open exclusively to students in their junior and senior years.[5]
Tower is traditionally known to attract both artistic and politically engaged students on campus.[6] In 2024, Tower accepted 165 students, the most students of any of the bicker clubs and had an acceptance rate of around 60%.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "Princeton Historic District". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ^ a b c "Tower Club". The Eating Clubs of Princeton University. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ^ a b Robertson, Laura (February 16, 2023). "Bicker, explained". The Princetonian. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ "How do I join a club?". The Eating Clubs of Princeton University. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ "Tower Fall Bicker". The Eating Clubs of Princeton University. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "Profiling Princeton's eating clubs". Community News. January 11, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Wilhoit, Justus (February 12, 2024). "In highly-selective year, over 80 percent of sophomores participate in Street Week". The Princetonian. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
Further reading[edit]
- Selden, William K. (1994). Club Life at Princeton: An Historical Account of the Eating Clubs at Princeton University. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Prospect Foundation.
- Zink, Clifford W. (2017). The Princeton Eating Clubs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Prospect Foundation.
