Video feature: 'The Stairways of Princeton'

Stairways index

The buildings of Princeton University house a range of stairways in vastly different styles. For example, this modern spiral staircase in Scully Hall provides a sharp contrast to the traditional winding stairs of Nassau Hall.

Photos by Neil Mills

The Princeton University campus offers a melding of traditional and modern architectural influences. Through a focus on stairways, it is possible to perceive the shifts of time through design.

"The Stairways of Princeton" also provides a metaphor for the Princeton educational journey. Generations of students have aspired to ascend toward a variety of academic and personal goals by climbing the stairs of Princeton.

This tour of diverse stairways spans from the winding stairs of Nassau Hall — cut from dressed redstone with well-worn footfalls — to the Frick Chemistry Laboratory's state-of-the-art open curved stairways with glass railings.