Places: Nina Sheridan ’19

The six of us stared up at the blank black sky. We lay on our backs listening to the faint music drifting from Dillon Gym. The cool smooth surface of the sculpture that we called — in error — “Table Top” eased our muscles. Already the strain of Outdoor Action had begun to fade, replaced by a feeling of nostalgia for our time hiking on the Appalachian Trail. 

The few days since we had arrived back on campus had been a flurry of activity. Now, it was the night before our first day of classes. As we talked and joked, anxiety was transformed into contentment, as we realized that we had already become good friends. We compared schedules, made plans to meet for lunch, and vowed to return to “Table Top” the next year. 

Public Table, as it’s officially called, allows for people-watching at its finest. Yet it also provides moments of solitude away from the dizzying speed of life at Princeton. Tourists and students alike waste away spring afternoons sitting on top of the sculpture, an inverted cone that looks like it could topple over with a strong wind. Yet it appears to hold up anything, including six freshmen anxiously awaiting the first day of their next four years. 

More Favorite Places

Nikita Dutta GS, Tiger and Tigress, Adams Mall

Gabriel Fisher ’17, Atrium, Princeton University Art Museum

Jennifer Shyue ’17, Murray-Dodge Café

Emily Erdos ’19, Class of 1887 Boathouse

Alexandra Markovich ’17, Track and Field Locker Room, Caldwell Field House

Matthew Silberman ’17, Common Room, Whitman College

Hayley Roth ’17, The Chapel

Megan Laubach ’18, Science Fiction Library, Forbes College

Kevin Cheng ’17, Dante Room (East Pyne 111)

Juliette Hackett ’17, Towpath

Mary Hui ’17, Cleveland Tower, Graduate College​​​​​​​

Photographs by Ricardo Barros