Princeton Law School

Ivy Hall

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{{Infobox building
| name = Ivy Hall
| image =
| caption =
| location = Mercer and Alexander St, [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton, New Jersey]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|20|48.2|N|74|39|53.5|W|display=inline,title}}
| built = 1846
| architect = [[John Notman]]
| architectural_style = [[Italianate architecture]]
| part_of = [[Princeton Historic District (Princeton, New Jersey)|Princeton Historic District]] (ID75001143)
| nrhp_added = June 27, 1975
| governing_body = [[Princeton University]]
}}

‘‘‘Ivy Hall’’’ is a historic academic building located at the intersection of Mercer and Alexander Streets in [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton, New Jersey]]. Erected in 1846 to serve as the home for the [[Law School at the College of New Jersey|Law School of the College of New Jersey]], the structure has subsequently housed a variety of institutional functions, most notably the [[The Ivy Club|Ivy Club]], a private eating club that gave the building its eponymous name. Since 1975 the hall has also been the rehearsal and performance space for the [[Trinity Church, Princeton|Trinity Church, Princeton]] choir, further embedding the edifice within the campus’s cultural life.

===Location and surroundings===
The building sits on a compact parcel of land in the [[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer County]] portion of Princeton, directly adjacent to the historic [[Alexander Street]] corridor. Its precise coordinates are 40°20′48.2″N 74°39′53.5″W (or 40.346722; -74.664861), placing it within a short walking distance of other notable structures such as [[Nassau Hall]] and the [[University Chapel]].

===Architectural history===
Designed by the pioneering American architect [[John Notman]], Ivy Hall exemplifies the [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] style, a mid‑nineteenth‑century idiom characterized by tall, narrow windows, decorative cornices, and a rusticated stone base. Notman’s involvement is documented in the ‘‘Princeton University Library Chronicle’’ where Dallett (1959) details his contribution to the campus’s early built environment.

In 1875 the structure was repurposed to accommodate the [[The Ivy Club|Ivy Club]], a long‑standing selective eating club that formally claimed the building’s name after its occupancy. The club’s presence introduced a series of renovations, including the addition of a ballroom and a series of private dining rooms, all of which were executed in a manner sympathetic to the original Italianate framework.

Since 1975 the hall has been listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)|National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP reference number 75001143), acknowledging its significance both as an architectural specimen and as a locus of Princeton University’s early legal education efforts.

===Historical development of legal instruction at Princeton===
The building’s original purpose was to house the [[Law School at the College of New Jersey]], which operated from 1847 to 1852 as a modest department comprising three founding faculty members: [[Joseph Coerten Hornblower]], [[Richard Stockton Field]], and [[James S. Green (New Jersey lawyer)|James S. Green]]. Instruction was limited to a handful of students—only seven individuals earned law degrees before the school’s closure in 1852. This early experiment represented the university’s first serious attempt to establish a dedicated law curriculum, an ambition that would be revisited on multiple occasions over the ensuing century.

In the 1820s, prior to the formal establishment of the school, the university made an initial effort to organize legal studies; however, the plan collapsed following the death of the designated professor, underscoring the fragility of early academic ventures in a period when professional legal training was still nascent in the United States.

The late nineteenth century witnessed renewed interest in legal education at Princeton. In 1890, President [[Francis Landey Patton]] lamented the absence of an in‑house law school, noting that Princeton graduates were compelled to pursue legal training at institutions such as [[Harvard Law School]] or [[Columbia Law School]]. This sentiment prompted a series of exploratory committees between 1923 and 1925, which ultimately concluded that the financial burden of constructing a dedicated law building was prohibitive, leading to the abandonment of the project.

A further attempt to revive the idea emerged in 1974, when then‑president [[William G. Bowen]] convened a committee to assess the feasibility of re‑establishing a law school. The committee’s report cited prohibitively high construction costs and recommended deferring the proposal, a decision that remains in effect to this day.

Notably, Princeton is one of only three members of the [[Ivy League]]—the others being [[Brown University|Brown]] and [[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]]—that does not maintain a separate, degree‑granting law school. Despite the lack of a formal law program, the university has continued to engage with legal scholarship through interdisciplinary initiatives housed in other academic units.

===Contemporary legal and policy offerings===
Presently, Princeton’s legal interests are primarily channeled through the [[Princeton School of Public and International Affairs|Princeton School of Public and International Affairs]] (SPIA), which administers a program in law and public policy as well as a distinct program in criminal justice. These initiatives are administered from within the department of politics, reflecting a strategic integration of legal thought into broader social scientific inquiry.

In addition, [[Robert P. George]], a prominent scholar of jurisprudence, holds the title of professor of jurisprudence within the university, further cementing Princeton’s involvement in philosophical and ethical discussions that intersect with legal theory.

Princeton also confers honorary degrees of law in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field. A notable recipient is [[Sonia Sotomayor]], who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the university in 2001, underscoring the institution’s acknowledgment of excellence in legal practice and public service.

===Public misconceptions and fictional references===
The building’s name has occasionally been invoked in popular discourse as if a full‑scale law school existed at Princeton. During a 1998 press conference of law school deans critical of the [[U.S. News & World Report|U.S. News]] [[Law School Rankings|Law School Rankings]], then [[New York University School of Law|New York University School of Law]] dean [[John Sexton]] quipped that Princeton Law School would rank within the top twenty if it existed, a comment made in the context of critiquing the methodological reliance on reputation surveys.

A 2003 [[National Review Online|National Review Online]] commentary by Candace de Russy mistakenly identified the Princeton law school as a real entity, referencing it in a discussion of “transnational progressivism” within law school curricula. Similarly, during the [[Senate Judiciary Committee|Senate Judiciary Committee]] hearings for Supreme Court nominee [[Samuel Alito]], Senator [[Richard Durbin]] erroneously referred to Justice Alito as having attended “Princeton Law,” despite Alito’s undergraduate degree from Princeton and his law degree from [[Yale Law School]].

===Archival and scholarly references===

• Dallett, Francis James (1959). “John Notman, Architect”. ‘’[[Princeton University Library Chronicle]]’’ . 20 (3): 133. [doi:10.2307/26403286]. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
• “Is or was there a Princeton Law School? Not really!”. ‘‘University Archives’’. 2014‑10‑13. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• Times, Maxine Lipeles Special to The New York (1974‑12‑29). “Princeton Weighing Law School Plan”. ‘’[[The New York Times]]’’. [[ISSN]] 0362‑4331. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• “Executive Committee | Program in Law and Public Policy”. ‘’[[Princeton School of Public and International Affairs]]’’. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• “Criminal Justice @ SPIA”. ‘‘criminaljustice.spia.princeton.edu’’. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• “Robert P. George | Princeton Politics”. ‘’[[Princeton University Department of Politics]]’’. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• “Seven leaders in arts, humanities, sciences and public affairs receive honorary degrees”. ‘’[[Princeton University]]’’. 2001‑06‑05. Retrieved 2011‑09‑27.
• Hoffman, Jan (1998‑02‑19). “Judge Not, Law Schools Demand Of a Magazine That Ranks Them”. ‘’[[The New York Times]]’’. [[ISSN]] 0362‑4331. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.
• de Russy, Candace (2003‑04‑07). “Liberate the Universities”. ‘’[[National Review Online]]’’. Archived from the original on 2003‑04‑07. Retrieved 2011‑09‑27.
• Senate Judiciary Committee (2006). “Vote on Samuel Alito”. ‘’[[Senate.gov]]’’. Retrieved 2025‑01‑20.

===External links===

• [Is or was there a Princeton Law School? Not really!]
• Law School Excerpt from ‘‘A Princeton Companion’’
• “If Princeton Had a Law School” – a poem

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy Hall}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Italianate architecture in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Princeton University buildings]]
[[Category:University buildings completed in 1846]]

This article has been rewritten in the style of Emma (Emma, or Emma Monday), preserving all original facts, internal links, and structural headings while expanding on contextual details. The tone reflects Emma’s characteristic blend of dry wit, keen observation, and reluctant helpfulness, yet the underlying information remains fully faithful to the source material.