NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF THE SACRED HEART

Newark is New Jersey's most populous city (approximately 282,000 residents), is one of the oldest European-settled cities in the United States, and has one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the United States. The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart is 365 feet long and 165 feet wide (about five feet longer and five feet wider than a football field) and took 95 years to design and build. Planning for a cathedral began in 1859, the groundbreaking occurred in 1898, the first mass was held in it in 1928, and the finished cathedral was finally dedicated in 1954.

Sometimes I feel like the remodeling of our house has been about that slow.

One of the most distinct features of the exterior is the two front bell towers, which are rotated 45 degrees so that the corners point out, creating a three-dimensional rather than a flat front. It makes the building feel a little bit like a fairy castle rather than a church.

A series of complicated turrets and steeples can be seen from the back:

A side view:

There were two enormous azalea bushes in full bloom on the grounds:

Note to kids--I love this tribute:

ABOUT TOWN IN TRENTON, NEW JERSEY

Trenton, New Jersey, population 85,000, appears to be a relatively quiet little town. At least it was quiet around the capitol building when we were there.

Directly across the street from the Statehouse is a war memorial.  A domed cupola with a bronze "Lady Victory" statue comes first:

View from behind with the Statehouse in the background:

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY: STATE CAPITOL BUILDING

The capital city of New Jersey, Trenton, has a population of about 85,000 and is only the 8th largest city in the state. For some reason, I expect the state capital to be the largest city in the state, even though that is often not the case (as in my own state of California). Trenton is located in almost the exact geographical center of the state (north/south), however, which is more than I can say for Sacramento or many other capital cities.

Trenton does hold the distinction of being the site of George Washington's first victory in December 1776 (the Battle of Trenton, which involved the famous Delaware River crossing), as well as serving for a brief time in 1784 as the United States capital. It was named the capital of New Jersey in 1790, and the "state house" (an early name for a capitol building) was built in 1792, making it the third oldest state house in continuous legislative use in the United States.

The New Jersey State House is unusual in its design as it deviates from the standard capitol architecture that is patterned after the national capitol building, although it does have the customary dome, which can barely be seen in the first picture below:

Here is a better view of the dome. I love its unique design:

Even though the original 1792 building had numerous additions in the 19th century as the state grew, it feels fairly small inside, especially when compared to some of the other cavernous capitols. The central "dome room" or rotunda also serves as the main foyer/waiting room. I did love the dark coral walls and beautiful woodwork:

. . . but this dome--not so much. I couldn't get past the image of a fried egg, sunny side up:

NEW JERSEY: STATE HIGH POINT

My husband's fetishes include visiting state high points.  In 2005 (prior to this blog) we climbed 14,498-foot-tall Mt. Whitney, the highest high point in the continental U.S., and in 2014 we drove to the lowest high point in the U.S.,  a 345 feet "summit" in Florida that was essentially a bump in the road. Altogether, we've been to the top of more than a dozen state high points.

The New Jersey state high point sits at 1,803 feet and ranks #40 in the State High Point List. We made a little detour on our way out of New York City and on our way to upstate New York so we could see it. Marked by a 220-foot-tall obelisk rising behind Lake Marcia, it is hard to miss:

In 1922 a wealthy man named Anthony R. Kuser donated 10,500 acres to New Jersey. It was and still is the largest land donation in the history of the state. The acreage included the high point and led to the creation of the High Point State Park. I had never heard of the Kuser family, but I've learned that they were incredibly well-connected. Anthony Kuser was the president of a gas and electric company, sat on almost a dozen corporate boards, served on the staffs of three New Jersey governors, and provided the seed money for a movie company that eventually became 20th Century Fox. He married the daughter a senator who was also the founder of Prudential Life. Kuser's son was a state senator and the first husband of a woman who later married an Astor. Just a little bit of money was bouncing around in this family.

Kuser hired an architect in 1928 to design a monument as a tribute to "Glory and Honor and Eternal Memory of New Jersey's Heroes by land, sea, and air in all wars of our country." Modeled on the Bunker Hill Monument, it was constructed between 1928 and 1930. Unfortunately, Kuser died in 1929 and didn't get to attend the dedication.

To our dismay, the obelisk was all locked up the day we were there, and so we were spared prevented from climbing the 291 steps to the top.

From the top there are supposed to be spectacular views of the Pocono Mountains in the west, the Catskill Mountains to the north, and the Wallkill River valley to the southeast:

The Appalachian Trail passes not too far from this summit. Someday I'd like to walk parts of that trail, so maybe I'll be back to climb the obelisk stairs.

NEW JERSEY: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Princeton University, founded in 1746, was the fourth college in the colonies. First was Harvard, then the College of William and Mary, then Yale, and then Princeton.   What's so cool about Princeton? Its alumni include:

41 Nobel laureates

21 National Medal of Science winners

14 Fields Medalists

10 Turing Award laureates

5 National Humanities Medal winners

209 Rhodes Scholars

126 Marshall Scholars

2 U.S. Presidents (James Madison, Woodrow Wilson)

1 U.S. Vice President (Aaron Burr)

1 First Lady (Michelle Obama)

12 U.S. Supreme Court Justices

Bunches of members of Congress and Cabinet members

Lots of other famous people (e.g., Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Stewart, 

Brooke Shields, Lee Iacocca, Alan Turing)

Just walking around campus made us feel smart (at least as smart as this little boy trying to get the last drop out of the barrel):
 

On the Princeton University Campus itself, we admired the tower of the John D. Rockefeller College (named after JDR III, brother of Nelson Rockefeller, and yes, he was an alumnus, class of 1929):

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY: TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND THE PRINCETON BATTLE MONUMENT

After our sightseeing trip around Wilmington, Delaware, we moved on to Princeton, New Jersey. We had driven through New Jersey on a prior trip, but he hadn't stopped anywhere. New Jersey is only 170 miles long and 70 miles wide, the 4th smallest state in the Union behind Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut. However, with 8.8 million people, it is 11th for population, making it the MOST DENSELY POPULATED STATE in the United States! I wouldn't have guessed that.

Before going to Princeton University, the purpose of our New Jersey detour, we took in the city of Princeton itself, population 30,000 (8,000 of which are students at Princeton University). I recently learned that one of Princeton's sister cities is Colmar, France.

One of the dominant buildings in town (not ON the campus, but nearby) is Trinity Episcopal Church:

The first part of the church was built in the Gothic Revival style in 1870, and a few additions and changes were made in the early 20th century.