February 19, 2024
Ikon 5 Architects/NJDEP
A rendering shows the curved design of the new visitor center at New Jersey's Washington Crossing State Park, and its green roof.
A new visitor center planned at New Jersey's Washington Crossing State Park will include "commanding views" of the Delaware River at the site where the Revolutionary War took a pivotal turn.
The visitor center is expected to be completed in time for the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Preparation work is starting this month.
The visitor center will feature a unique, curved design with a green roof and a series of trails surrounding the building. Inside, a multipurpose theater will have immersive exhibits that celebrate Gen. George Washington and his troops crossing the icy river into New Jersey on Christmas in 1776. The next morning, the Continental Army marched nine miles south to Trenton and waged a surprise attack on a garrison held by Hession mercenaries. British forces had largely remained in New York for the winter, leaving an opening for Washington's army to score a strategic victory that restored morale and helped alter the course of the war in the Americans' favor.
Washington Crossing State Park spans about 3,500 acres in Mercer and Hunterdon counties along the Delaware River, with most of the park's amenities situated near the riverfront in Titusville. Before the war, the site of the crossing had been used for commercial and passenger ferries between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The park was established in 1912 and later expanded with roads, trails and picnic groves during the Great Depression. It now includes a nature preserve, an open-air theater and a number of historic structures, including the Johnson Ferry House and surrounding tract where Washington's troops took shelter after crossing the river. The park's Swan Collection, held at the existing visitor center, holds more than 600 artifacts from the Revolutionary War era.
The visitor center is expected to cost $14 million, the Inquirer reported.
It is being funded with corporate business tax revenue through the Preserve New Jersey Act. Additional support will be provided by Gov. Phil Murphy with funds from the American Rescue Plan. The visitor center was designed by New York-based Ikon 5 Architects, whose work received a national award from the Society of American Registered Architects.
Beginning in late February (2024), work will begin in preparation for construction of the new Washington Crossing State...
Posted by New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites on Wednesday, February 14, 2024
The initial phase of the project involves removing trees from the visitor center site. By law, the state will offset the tree removal with plantings in other areas of the park. Events marking the United States Semiquincentennial will begin later this year and continue through 2033, officials said.
Washington State Crossing Park is significantly bigger than Bucks County's 500-acre Washington Crossing Historic Park, which holds annual Christmas reenactments of the famed crossing. In recent years, Pennsylvania has provided funding for the restoration of more than a dozen historic structures at the park.
