When the University Hotel, located at the corner of Nassau Street and Railroad Avenue (now University Place), opened for business in 1876, it was one of the most impressive buildings in Princeton.  Designed by William Appleton Potter in a Victorian Gothic style, the hotel also housed the local bank, telegraph office, tonsorial parlor, and many student social events.  Never profitable, the hotel building passed into College ownership in 1884, serving as a dormitory and commons area under the name University Hall, though ironically Princeton did not become a “university” until 1896.  By 1908, all underclassmen students took their meals in this facility.  In 1916, University Hall was demolished to allow for the construction of the Madison Hall dining complex.

• To learn more about the University Hotel, see Café Vivian picture #48, and 62.
  
  
• To learn more about William Appleton Potter’s buildings, see Café Vivian picture #11. 16, and 78.
  
  
• To learn more about residential life at Princeton, see quotation #33 and Café Vivian picture #1, 11, 46, 62, 85, and 128.
  
  
• To learn more about Princeton’s vanished buildings, see Café Vivian picture #6, 8, 25, 37, 40, 46, 48, 58, 62, and 78.
  
  
• To learn more about campus grounds and buildings, see icon #1, 5, and 8, quotation #5, 7, 9, 28, and 39, and Café Vivian picture #4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 16, 20, 25, 30, 33, 37, 40, 46, 48, 54, 58, 61, 62, 67, 68, 71, 78, 85, 87, 95, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 108, 109, 111, 118, 124, and 133.

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