Historic Name

Dorothea House

Address

120 John Street

Tax Parcel

1114_17.04_2

Historic District

Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District

Classification

Key Contributing

Number of Resources

1

Style

Spanish Revival

Number of Stories

2

Material

Brick

Historic Function

Domestic

Current Function

Domestic

Last Entry Update

2/11/2020

Setting

Description

Dorothea's House was established in 1913 as a cultural center for Princeton's Italian immigrants, so the architecture reflects a rural Italian idiom with the raised stone foundation, stucco walls, brick trimmed entrance arch and windows beneath a gabled tile roof. The five bay street facade has taller first floor double hung windows over square basement units aligned with the second floor units which is also typical for the two bay gable end facades. A timber framed gabled roof sits over the entrance door arch with a memorial panel above. The entrance stair is two opposing flights against the foundation wall. On the south side where John Street curves around the property, there is a small one story gabled wing which is an extension of the shed roof mass across the whole rear. It has a tall center section for a covered second floor roof deck.

Built

1913

Architect

Builder

History

Dorothea’s House, located at 120 John Street, is an important piece of the early history of Italian Americans in Princeton. Dorothea Van Dyke was a volunteer social worker who worked with Italian immigrants in the early 1900s. She was a daughter of Henry Van Dyke, a professor of English literature at Princeton who wrote popular novels of the day; he also wrote the hymn “Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee,” sung to the tune of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Woodrow Wilson appointed Van Dyke to serve as the US Ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg from 1913-1917. Dorothea married Guy Richard McLane, a New York City stockbroker. She died in childbirth in 1912. Her husband and father established the Dorothea van Dyke McLane Association to continue Dorothea’s legacy in Princeton, constructing Dorothea’s House in 1913. Dorothea’s House, located on John Street at Green Street, is located in the proposed Witherspoon Jackson historic preservation district. It has continued to serve the Italian American community throughout the succeeding century.

Sources

If you have additional information or corrections to the existing information, send an email to ekim@princetonnj.gov.
Submitted information is reviewed by the Princeton HPC prior to updating the database.

2015 Photo
Dorothea House, east elevation

2015 Photo
Dorothea House, east and south elevations

2015 Photo
Dorothea House, east and north elevations