The new Washington Crossing State Park Visitor Center will bring park visitors through state-of-the-art immersive exhibits and reveal details of history that depict General Washington, his troops, and the diversity of people that supported the American Revolution.
The exhibits will take visitors through a timeline of the Revolutionary War starting in 1775, to the Ten Crucial Days, Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas day, the first and second battles of Trenton, the Battle of Princeton and concluding in 1783. The highlight of the new exhibits is the “Crossing Theater” which is an immersive experience where visitors will stand on a ferry boat with video reenacting the crossing playing on the exhibit walls. The building will also feature a 125-seat multipurpose theater (different from the aforementioned “Crossing Theater”), a flex gallery for temporary exhibits, a welcome lobby and a covered outdoor terrace.
In developing the new exhibits State Park Service staff visited and consulted with interpretive staff at other Revolutionary War historic sites including Yorktown, Mount Vernon and the Museum of the American Revolution.
Designed by Ikon 5 Architects of New York with input from New Jersey State Parks staff, the DEP’s Office of Resource Development and State of New Jersey’s Division of Property Management and Construction. Additionally, the New Jersey State Parks met repeatedly with partners, such as the Washington Crossing Park Association, the Swan Foundation and the Historic Sites Council during the design process, with public comment included in these meetings.
The design is inspired by the shape of a leaf that follows the curvature of the Green Dot Trail to the pedestrian overpass to the site of the crossing. The building will be built into the landscape and will feature a green roof.
Support for the design and location of the new visitor center was received from the Crossroads of the American Revolution and the American Battlefield Trust.
The first stage of work which began in February included site preparation, including tree removal, to prepare the grounds for construction. None of the trees that were removed were witness to Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River in 1776. The trees that were removed will be replaced with new trees in the area of the new visitor center and other areas throughout Washington Crossing State Park in compliance with the New Jersey No Net Loss Reforestation Act N.J.S.A. 13:1L-14.1 et seq.
Visitor Center Renderings
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
