Popping the Bubble: Hamilton's Grounds for Sculpture

So remember when you’d just started college shopping and everyone was trying to help you decide by posing these sort of useless, black-and-white questions?“Big or small? Rural or urban?” they would ask.And then you visited Princeton, and the sun was shining and the bunnies were hopping and the squirrels were eating trash and other small rodents and you realized, in a flash of inspiration, that you could have it all. Or at least, you could have it all location-wise. You could have the benefits of small-town life while being wedged in between two major cities, just an hour from each.And then you got to Princeton, heard Triangle sing about Princeton’s orange bubble, and scoffed. Other people get stuck in the bubble, not you. You could still be metropolitan and cool, spending every weekend in Manhattan or Philly, frequenting museums, concerts, and other hipster haunts.And then you started classes, were assigned three problem sets and two papers in one week, realized the magic of the Street, and never left.We get it. We really do. It’s tough to make time to get off of campus, and it’s far too easy to get stuck in that infamous orange bubble and forget that there’s life beyond Nassau Street.But there is. And you don’t even have to spend more than 10 minutes in transit to find it. Check out an example after the jump.Take Hamilton’s Grounds for Sculpture. Didn’t know it existed? Don’t worry, neither do most Princetonians. That’s because its 35 acres are nestled among UPS packing warehouses and truck refueling stations. But you’ll know you’re getting close when you start seeing people on the streets who look like they ran into Medusa.Founded in 1992 by sculptor J. Seward Johnson on the site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds, the public park seeks to raise appreciation for contemporary sculpture in a laidback, outdoor setting. Much of the permanent outdoor collection can be touched and climbed on, and the indoor collection has seasonal exhibits.The property also hosts educational events and tours, and features Rat’s Restaurant, where recent “Top Chef” winner Kevin Sbraga serves up delicious food in a distinctly Giverny-esque setting. (You’ll have to cross a reconstruction of Monet’s bridge to get from the grounds to the restaurant).One word of warning: beware some of the eerily life-like sculptures. I apologized to several sculpted couples that I found kissing passionately in the bushes.Check back in the coming weeks to hear about more ways to poke holes in our beloved bubble without leaving Mercer County. Because sometimes, we just need a break from our Small World – class – Street circuits.