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Trenton Arts at Princeton ‘taps’ into local creative community

Trenton Youth Dancers rehearsal

Nick donnoli.

While Saturday mornings may be a quiet time around most of Princeton’s campus, the Lewis Center of the Arts is bustling with activity — and performers’ instruments. Every Saturday, buses congregate in front of the arts complex, dropping off Trenton Central High School students for a morning of performances.

The weekly program, Saturday Morning Arts (SMArts), is a part of a larger organization called Trenton Arts at Princeton (TAP), a collaboration between the Department of Music, Lewis Center for the Arts, and Pace Center for Civic Engagement. SMArts, one of TAP’s most notable programs, brings together Princetonians and Trenton students through a shared love of the arts. The high school students arrive in the morning, where they are provided with a quick breakfast to fuel hours of performances. From then until the early afternoon, the students divide into one of four categories: dance, orchestra, song, or theater. Princeton students involved in TAP assist in teaching the students and guiding their rehearsals.

Each week, a Princeton performance group also provides a demonstration. Previous performers have included the a cappella group the Nassoons, the chamber music group OPUS, and the dance group eXpressions. 

“I especially enjoy seeing the Trenton students interact because really special relationships are being built with the private teachers. Sometimes, I'll have students there for four more years, and it becomes really special,” Princeton alum Lou Chen ’19, the current coordinator of TAP and director of the group’s orchestra, told the ‘Prince.’

Chen began working with TAP when it was a fledgling organization stationed in a small house in Trenton for at-risk youth. TAP was then under the direction of Joseph Pucciatti, who founded the Trenton Central High School orchestra and bridged a connection between the high school and Princeton. As the program grew, funding from the Department of Music provided the opportunity to bus the highschoolers to campus and increase the staff. Chen acts in an administrative role in organizing TAP’s programs, both fostering connections across campus and Trenton and training Princeton students. For Chen, these relationships are an essential part of his work.

“Seeing people interact, who otherwise maybe wouldn't be interacting, because of the barriers that exist to getting people to Trenton or to Princeton, is very rewarding,” he said.

Princeton students have several opportunities to become involved in TAP. For students seeking a slightly less demanding commitment, there are options to meaningfully assist with SMArts that require less time. Students can volunteer to teach a group of students or, for a more personalized experience, students can lead individual workshops, where they work weekly with one student and build a personal rapport between musicians.

Students interested in taking a larger role within the organization can apply for a TAP fellowship, a paid student position within the organization. Fellows lead one of the four arts groups and participate in weekly meetings with their cohort. However, TAP is also flexible in engaging Princeton students who do not see a current role that suits their interests.

“If there is a need that you think you can fill, join our team. That’s how we’ve gotten some of our best students engaged. It’s because they were nontraditional fits for the program but found someplace where they could give help. And we're always open to innovation,” Chen noted.

TAP is an opt-in program for both the college and high school participants, so all students involved have a passion for the arts and a commitment to the program. For Trenton Central High School students, TAP exists as a way to expand the skills that students already learn in school. Trenton Central High School students join Small Learning Communities that provide a focus to their studies. One of these communities is the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) community. For students in the VPA, TAP acts both as a supplement and an expansion of their primary education.

Andy Seabert, a teacher leader of the Visual and Performing Arts program, has seen the increased opportunities that his students have found through TAP.

“There’s room for multiple arts. TAP allows students who are maybe focused on one art a chance to experiment with another art outside of their high school schedule. When they’ve got core classes, and sports and other things going on, they don’t always have the room for that second experience. I think it helps them become more well-rounded as artists and creators,” Seabert said.  

While support from student leaders is a way for Trenton students to hone their performance skills, TAP is also a creative outlet for Princetonians themselves. Fellow Charlotte Defriez ’26 became involved when she wanted to continue practicing the violin while engaging with a new community. Since then, SMArts has become a highlight of her work, interacting with both Princeton and Trenton high school students.

“I just love the community. I want to be doing this on my weekends. It’s just amazing,” said Defriez.

TAP’s upcoming 5th anniversary showcase will be held in Richardson Auditorium on Apr. 6. Tickets can be found on the Princeton Ticketing website.

Isabella Dail is a member of the Class of 2026 and head editor for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at id7289[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Jules Thin Crust: Is it worth your Paw Points?

In light of Jules Thin Crust now accepting Dining Points, contributing writer for the Prospect Lulu Pettit investigates the quality, relative to cost, of its food to determine the value of using Dining Points on this pizzeria.

‘She Loves Me’: a review of a modernized rom-com musical

Contributing writer for the Prospect Donaji Mendieta-Silva reviews “She Loves Me,” a recent musical that puts a modern twist on the classic rom-com.

MET review of ‘La Forza del Destino’: A modern take on a traditional opera

“It was admirable seeing the incorporation of new stage technologies with long-time operas, providing fresh interpretations and contexts for modern audiences. Still, I believe that the opera singing should always remain center stage.”

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Application Checklist

Below you'll find the list of components that comprise the Princeton first-year application. In an effort to simplify all that is required of you, we frame the process in three action steps: 1) Submit, 2) Request and 3) Report.

More information about optional components of the application is available at the base of the page. 

First-Year Application Checklist

A Completed Application. You must submit your application online through the Coalition Application or  Common Application . Princeton's CEEB Code: 2672

Princeton-specific Questions. In addition to the questions provided by the Coalition Application or Common Application, all applicants must submit the Princeton-specific Questions . You should submit the Princeton-specific Questions online through the Coalition Application or Common Application website. 

Application Fee or Fee Waiver. You may submit a fee waiver one of two ways: 1) Select the fee waiver option on the Coalition Application or Common Application. Your school counselor must approve your fee waiver request online or submit your fee waiver form by mail or fax. 2) Select one of the following fee waiver options on the application: Princeton-specific,  ACT ,  College Board  or  NACAC . All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. In addition, all applicants who are serving or have served in the U.S. military are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. If you use the Princeton-specific fee waiver, you do not need to get approval from your college counselor or academic adviser.

• Graded Written Paper. A graded written paper  is required, preferably in the subjects of English or history.

Transcript. An official transcript must be sent by a school counselor or school official.

• School Report (SR) . The SR form is available from the Coalition Application or Common Application website. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit the SR form.   
• Counselor Recommendation.  Please note that the SR and the Counselor Recommendation are separate items. Be sure to “invite ”  your school counselor or academic adviser to complete both items.  
• Two (2) Teacher Recommendations. Please ask two of your teachers who have taught you in higher level courses (e.g., AP, IB Higher/Standard Level, A-Levels, etc.) in different academic areas of study to complete and send the teacher recommendation forms, available on the Coalition Application or Common Application website. The subjects should be in core academic areas, such as English, language, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences or math.  
• Midyear School Report. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit this form when your midyear grades are available. 

We are extending our test optional policy for first-year and transfer applicants for the next three admission cycles (that is, for applications due in the falls of 2023, 2024, and 2025).

• SAT or ACT . If you choose to submit testing, applicants should take the SAT or the ACT by the October test date for single-choice early action and the December date for regular decision. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the following codes to ensure your scores are sent to Princeton: SAT: 2672 and ACT: 2588 .  
• SAT Subject Tests. Princeton does not require SAT Subject Tests. If you chose to sit for a Subject Test (prior to January/June 2021 when the College Board eliminated the test) and wish to submit the score, you may do so.  
• TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic scores . If English is not your native language and you are attending a school where English is not the language of instruction, you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) , the International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS Academic) or the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) . You are not required to take the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic if English is your native language or if you have spent at least three years at a secondary school where English is the primary language of instruction. Please have your scores sent directly to Princeton: TOEFL: 2672

Optional Application Components  

Arts Supplement, if applicable.  If you've excelled in  architecture, creative writing, dance, music, music theater, theater  or  visual arts , and would like us to consider your talent, you are welcome to submit an  optional Arts Supplement . Early action applicants must submit digital arts materials by Nov. 7 and regular decision applicants by Jan. 9. On the Coalition, Common or QuestBridge Application, please indicate your intention to submit an Arts Supplement in Princeton’s member questions. You will be able to submit an Arts Supplement through your Princeton Applicant Status Portal. Please keep in mind that you need to submit your application to Princeton University before you can submit your Arts Supplement. Given the timeline, students who are participating in the  QuestBridge National College Match  will be unable to submit an Arts Supplement.

• Interview.  Princeton offers optional alumni interviews. Interviews take place after the Admission Office has received your application. You may choose to opt out of the interview in the Princeton Supplement, and this choice will not put you at any disadvantage in the admission process. If you do not opt out, you may receive an email inviting you to interview with a member of our Princeton Alumni Schools Committee. If so, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. The interviews are 30-45 minute informal conversations, where you can discuss the things that are important to you and also ask questions to someone who attended Princeton. We cannot guarantee that every applicant will receive an interview. This will depend on the availability of alumni in your area. Our dedicated alumni do manage to contact the vast majority of our applicants every year; however, if you do not receive an interview for any reason, it will not put you at a disadvantage since the interview is optional. We do not offer on-campus interviews. These interviews must not be recorded in any way, either by the interviewer or the applicant. Given the timeline, students who are participating in the QuestBridge National College Match will be unable to complete an interview.

Application Confirmation

You may log in to Princeton's Applicant Portal  to verify whether we have received all your required application materials. You will receive a confirmation notice when we have received your application. The confirmation notice will arrive approximately 24-48 hours after you submit your admission application. If your application is incomplete, we will let you know which pieces are missing. Beginning in mid-October, you also may track the completeness of your application online through the Applicant Portal. Please note: You cannot apply for financial aid until you apply for admission. Please review our application dates and deadlines .

If a student has submitted an application on three separate occasions, the Office of Admission generally will not review subsequent applications. In these instances, if an application fee was submitted, it will be returned.

The University's admission process involves a holistic review of each applicant's entire file. No particular factor is assigned a fixed weight; rather, the process involves a highly individualized assessment of the applicant's talents, achievements and his or her potential to contribute to learning at Princeton. Please see the Joint Statement on Common Ivy Group Admission Procedures for more information about admission policies.

Princeton-specific Questions

Review the additional essay questions of our application.

Graded Written Paper

The graded written paper will help the Office of Admission assess the student’s written expression in an academic setting.

Optional Arts Supplement

The optional Arts Supplement is for students who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to one or more art forms and who wish to have their work considered as part of their application.

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As part of the application process, Princeton University collects from its applicants certain demographic information covered by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This information may be collected through graduate and undergraduate application materials, including the Common Application. You are not required to provide this information. If you choose to provide this information, it will not be shared with any University faculty members, administrators, or others who are involved in evaluating your application for admission and will not be considered in the admissions process. In addition, your refusal to provide any of this information will not subject you to any adverse treatment.

The University uses this information to help prepare certain disclosures regarding students required by state and federal law, and to enable the University’s Institutional Research Office to conduct analytical and policy studies that support University planning and decision-making. Aggregate applicant data may be shared with academic departments or admissions officers only after the admissions process has concluded to facilitate analysis. Any information that you share is subject to the University’s Data Privacy policies (available at https://registrar.princeton.edu/student-and-alumni-services/policies/data-privacy ).  

Clubs and Organizations

Perform slam poetry. Make chocolate.   Tutor elementary school children. Sing with an a cappella group. Write for a literary publication. Learn the science of beekeeping. Run for an elected office. These are just a handful of the hundreds of eclectic student activities at Princeton. Whatever your interests are now, or whatever new ones you discover once on campus, Princeton offers extracurricular organizations, clubs and centers for you.

Our more than 500 student organizations  are created and run by students with support from the University. They run the gamut from music and dance to politics and debate, from service and social activities to cultural and educational interests. And if you can't find the exact group you are looking for, you can always consider starting your own.

At Princeton, you have the opportunity to engage in the important work of shaping your undergraduate experience and contributing to the experiences of your peers. Take this opportunity to sharpen your leadership skills, learn about yourself and others, and broaden your own horizons. 

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Dedicated to the philosophy that students should be directly involved in the decisions that affect them, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) serves as the primary representative and liaison of Princeton undergraduates to the faculty, administration, trustees and broader community.

Service Programs

Service and civic engagement are a central part of the Princeton University student experience. The John H. Pace Jr. ’39 Center for Civic Engagement offers a number of opportunities for students to get involved in the local Princeton community and beyond.

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All About the Arts Supplement

If you’ve been dancing since you could walk or you’ve toured the country with your choir group, you’re probably wondering how to convey your talent and success to colleges beyond the limited space in the Common App. Luckily, many colleges have an option for students to upload an arts supplement.

Your submission could be a reel of your theater performances, a portfolio of your artwork, or audio recordings of your piano recitals. Use our guide to help navigate how to take advantage of an arts supplement in the college application process.

What Constitutes an Arts Supplement?

The arts supplement, sometimes known as the “arts portfolio” or an “additional arts form,” is a chance for students who’ve excelled in a creative or performance art, such as visual art, music, dance, theater, architecture, and creative writing, to submit an organized sample of their work. Colleges want their classes to be made up of students with a wide variety of interests and talents. The optional arts supplement, which is evaluated by professors in the relevant department, helps admissions officers get a sense of an applicant’s talent, alongside reading about it on paper.

The work on display in your arts supplement should reflect the same style of art you have passionately pursued throughout high school, as admissions officers appreciate continuity in the submissions. If you’re a hip-hop dancer, don’t submit six clips of hip-hop dance and one clip of you in a ballet from middle school. Stick to samples that you’ve created in high school—preferably in the last couple of years, since that should be your best work and reflect your current ability.

Along with the files containing your work, your arts supplement should also present any recognitions you’ve received, such as magazines where your work has been published, theater festivals where you’ve performed, and of course, awards you’ve won. You might also include a recommendation from the person who knows your work the best—your drama teacher or your piano instructor, for example.

Spend time compiling your best material and making a video or cover letter introducing your work to the college. Keep in mind that admissions officers have a lot of applications to go through. Don’t share long excerpts audio or video (in the ten-minute range), or ten pages of writing. Admissions officers will not have time to go through them all.

Your arts supplement acts as proof of your talent and reflects your dedication and commitment toward a field you are passionate about. If it can capture your abilities, you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity.

When Should You Submit an Arts Supplement?

• If you’re planning to major in the subject. If you’ve selected Music, Theater, Visual Art, Film, Dance, etc. as your major in your college application, submitting an arts supplement can help professors and admissions officers gain an idea of your work, and how well you’d fit into the program.
• If your counselor or instructor encourages you. If you’re unsure whether the arts supplement option is for you, you could ask your high school college counselor or the instructor who knows your work best. This also gives you another set of eyes to take a look and offer feedback, and help choose which samples to submit. Having a professional verify and affirm your talent can be a great boost for your confidence.
• If you attended an arts intensive high school. If you’ve gone to a high school which is known for its strong visual arts, theater, dance, or music program, you’ve probably spent years honing your skills. Your performance scores should give you an idea of where you stand among your peers. If you’re one of the top students in your class, definitely submit an arts supplement.
• If you’ve been taking lessons or significantly practicing for years. If you have spent hours, days, and years learning and improving your skills and you believe that your art, music, dance, or acting lessons have proven useful and you are one of the best, then you should submit an arts supplement.
• If you’ve been featured, published, or recognized on a big stage. If your writing has been published in print or online magazines, if your movie has performed well at a statewide film festival, or your song has thousands of hits on YouTube, you’ve got nothing to lose in submitting an arts supplement. Accolades such as these act as a great indicator of your talent.

Where to Submit Your Arts Supplement

Colleges usually have guidelines for submission of the arts supplement. Read submission instructions carefully, and follow them. Arts supplements can be added through the Common App or Coalition App. You should check first whether a college accepts arts supplement.

Consider this language on Princeton’s website:

If you’ve excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, theater or visual arts , and would like us to consider your talent as part of your Princeton application, you are welcome to submit an arts supplement via SlideRoom.

Most colleges use the online portal, SlideRoom , which is integrated with the application systems and can automatically add your uploads to your application. Each college has their own SlideRoom site, and submission costs five dollars per application. The platform is user-friendly, and you only have to create one SlideRoom account and upload media materials once. SlideRoom accepts images (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .tga) under 5 MB, audio files under 30 MB, documents under 10 MB, and videos under 250 MB. Since colleges expect your files to be professional and clear, if you want to submit large files for greater quality, the application fee will increase by 20 percent. SlideRoom also has a References section for you to add in any teacher recommendation.

Choose your best work which reflects your talent accurately. Make sure that you’ve uploaded the correct files. You don’t want easily avoidable errors to get in the way of colleges appreciating your hard work.

Submitting an arts supplement provides admissions officers a more in-depth glimpse into who you are, adding depth to your application and showing prowess in a unique speciality, which is always an asset in your college applications. If your submission accurately reflects your hard work and passion, the arts supplement can definitely provide a boost to your application.

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Arts supplement?

I’m a musician applying SCEA to Princeton. While I formerly played classical piano, I now focus on jazz, but have been intending to submit a 20th century classical song that I love along with a jazz improvisation piece and perhaps an original composition as well.

However, their arts supplement wants me to pick between jazz piano and “regular” piano, and if I pick regular, they would “prefer” me to also play Bach and Mozart pieces, which I would not be able to do. Should I submit just a jazz piece but showcase no classical skills? Or should I only submit my 20th century song but ignore their other two requests? How much would the arts supplement benefit my application in total, anyway?

I would only recommend.sending an arts supplement if you play at an extremely high level (conservator level or close to it). If you do send a supplement I would pay attention to the school’s preferences.which seem to be clearly stated and send a jazz piece.

Suggest you do what they ask but also contact the music department to find out if they want to hear the other piece(s) too.

If you don’t have the skills to play the classical pieces they “suggest”, then no, don’t submit alternative classical pieces. You’d be doing yourself a disservice submitting a subpar supplement. As indicated above, other applicants are submitting pieces that would be appropriate for a conservatory. Also note in their instructions:

https://admission.princeton.edu/faqs#optional-arts-supplement

If won’t make up for shortfalls elsewhere in your application, but may provide a small boost is the rest of the package is exemplary. Also, just because you send a supplement does not mean that it will be reviewed.

You’re getting good advises. I’d just repeat that your musical level should be pretty high for your arts supplement to have any positive effect. Knowing what I now know about the backgrounds of my son’s fellow musicians at Princeton, your level should definitely be at a conservatory quality. Many of the musicians at Princeton have pre-Juilliard or pre-NEC backgrounds with multiple international competition wins, and Princeton will continue to receive arts supplements from such applicants.

On the brighter side, Princeton truly values applicants with excellent musical abilities, so as long as the arts supplement is at a high level, it will definitely help, keeping in mind that the arts supplement, however, can’t compensate for sub-par application in other areas.

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Theater & Music Theater

“A great liberal arts education is the best possible training for a life in the theater. A class in theater is a wonderful training for life.”

— Jane Cox

Welcome to Princeton’s Program in Theater & Music Theater! We invite all students to participate in the creation, study, and performance of theater and music theater, with or without previous experience. We approach theater as an intensely collaborative art form, a key component of world cultures, and an entertainment genre that shapes and is shaped by history, politics, context, musical forms, and technology. We believe that the study of theater cultivates the exploration and integration of the body, the mind, and lived experience. Our program emphasizes the future of theater through fostering the creation of original work by students and working with innovative professional artists.

We offer over twenty courses each year including writing, performance, directing, music directing, design, community engaged theater, dramaturgy, performance history, performance theory, and criticism. For students interested in pursuing a minor, we offer four suggested pathways through our curriculum: Theater Maker, Music Theater, Performance Studies, and Community Engaged Theater. We also offer skill-based co-curricular classes and workshops in performance, creation, music, design, and technology open to all. We sponsor trips to New York, Philadelphia, New Brunswick, and Trenton to see a wide range of performances, visit archives, and meet artists and scholars, in addition to partnering with the McCarter Theatre on the Princeton campus. Princeton students participate in multiple student-run theater companies on campus, explore a wide range of theatrical research opportunities, training and internships in the summers, and can study theater and music theater abroad, including at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

We build community inside and outside of the University through our expansive student-initiated season of theatrical explorations, through our Princeton Playhouse Choir and Ensemble, through our partnership with Trenton Youth Theater, and through our relationships with the McCarter Theatre, Passage Theater, the Public Works program and other off-campus organizations. We also sustain community through ongoing relationships with alumni and with theatrical professionals and scholars. Most of the projects in our wide-ranging season of theatrical explorations emerge from proposals by students working towards the minor; all students at Princeton are invited to participate in theater making on and offstage, with or without previous experience.

Learn more about Program in Theater & Music Theater faculty , news , events , & courses .

Upcoming Theater & Music Theater Events

Thu Apr 4, 2024 - Sat Apr 6, 2024 · 7:30 pm

Sisyphus , a new play by jessica lopez ’24.

Fri Apr 5, 2024 - Sat Apr 13, 2024 · 8:00 pm

Flight of a legless bird by ethan luk ’24.

Fri Mar 29, 2024 - Sat Apr 6, 2024 · 8:00 pm

She loves me, fri apr 5, 2024 - sat apr 13, 2024 · 7:30 pm.

Browse the events calendar to see all upcoming events from the Program in Theater & Music Theater or arts partners across campus.

Theater & Music Theater News

Mar 27, 2024

Lewis center for the arts’ program in theater & music theater presents flight of a legless bird.

Mar 25, 2024

Performing the peace events highlight power of theater.

Mar 22, 2024

Lewis center for the arts’ program in theater & music theater presents she loves me.

Mar 21, 2024

Lewis center for the arts’ program in theater & music theater presents el ritmo que nos libre.

Read more theater & music theater news

Featured Theater & Music Theater Videos

For more information about the Program in Theater & Music Theater, please contact Joe Fonseca, Program Associate, at 609-258-7810 or [email protected] , or consult a directory of program staff .

Stay Informed

Are you a Princeton student casually interested in theater and music theater on campus? Please add your name to our general list to stay in touch with all kinds of theater happenings on campus.

Information for Minor Students

Are you a Princeton student interested in the minor in theater & music theater? Please add your name to our minor student list to hear about important dates & deadlines.

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Moscow Monumental

• Katherine Zubovich

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Moscow Monumental: Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin's Capital

An in-depth history of the Stalinist skyscraper

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In the early years of the Cold War, the skyline of Moscow was forever transformed by a citywide skyscraper building project. As the steel girders of the monumental towers went up, the centuries-old metropolis was reinvented to embody the greatness of Stalinist society. Moscow Monumental explores how the quintessential architectural works of the late Stalin era fundamentally reshaped daily life in the Soviet capital. Drawing on a wealth of original archival research, Katherine Zubovich examines the decisions and actions of Soviet elites—from top leaders to master architects—and describes the experiences of ordinary Muscovites who found their lives uprooted by the ambitious skyscraper project. She shows how the Stalin-era quest for monumentalism was rooted in the Soviet Union’s engagement with Western trends in architecture and planning, and how the skyscrapers required the creation of a vast and complex infrastructure. As laborers flooded into the city, authorities evicted and rehoused tens of thousands of city residents living on the plots selected for development. When completed in the mid-1950s, these seven ornate neoclassical buildings served as elite apartment complexes, luxury hotels, and ministry and university headquarters. Moscow Monumental tells a story that is both local and broadly transnational, taking readers from the streets of interwar Moscow and New York to the marble-clad halls of the bombastic postwar structures that continue to define the Russian capital today.

Q&A with Katherine Zubovich

Awards and recognition.

• Shortlisted for the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize
• Shortlisted for the Best Book in Cultural Studies Prize, American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages
• One of Foreign Affairs' Best Books
• Honorable Mention for the Alexander Nove Prize, British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies

"Impressive detail"—Anthony Paletta, Literary Review

"Zubovich has done stellar work in the city’s archives, uncovering a trove of letters and petitions from ordinary Soviet citizens. . . This is a book which delves into the very human tensions created by a society forced into transition, and the effects on a city undergoing a seismic political, cultural, and architectural change."—Jennifer Eremeeva, The Moscow Times

"A superb, sweeping account of the realization of a magnificent group of skyscrapers. Grounded in meticulous archival research, and highly readable, it will appeal to specialists and general readers alike interested in topics as wide ranging as Soviet-US relations, architecture, intellectuals, and everyday life under Stalin."—Christine Varga-Harris, American Historical Review

"Russian and Soviet urban history has expanded and developed greatly in the last two decades by drawing attention to the built environment, lived experience, and aesthetic choices and meanings of buildings. In Katherine Zubovich’s Moscow Monumental: Soviet Skyscrapers and Urban Life in Stalin’s Capital we have an example of some of the best trends in recent years. "—Karl Qualls, Russian Review

"Drawing on extensive archival research, the book delineates an arc from early conceptualization of Moscow as the capital of Soviet Russia to infighting leading to the demise of monumentality as a dominant force in Soviet architecture during the 1950s. ... Recommended."— Choice

"Well researched and lucidly written, Moscow Monumental is a welcome contribution to the field of urban history. It will be a good addition to the reading lists for university courses on Russian social and cultural his­tory. It will also be much appreciated by lovers of Russian history outside academe."—Elena V. Baraban, Ab Imperio Quarterly ​​​​​​​

"A monumental story, pun intended. . . .Readers will find this highly refreshing."—Heather D. DeHaan, Contemporary European History

"Zubovich gives us what the archives (and page limits) allow: a rich and thoughtful story of the ambition and contradiction that characterized the Soviet effort to create a lived utopia."—Diane P. Koenker, Journal of Modern History

" Moscow Monumental is a significant study of one of the most important building campaigns of the early Cold War and the impact it had on the urban life of the Soviet capital."—Richard Anderson, University of Edinburgh

"Zubovich offers unrivaled insight into how Stalin's skyscrapers have shaped Soviet memory and identity while shedding new light on the era in which they were born—one where global monumentalism brought us Rockefeller Center and the Golden Gate Bridge. Engagingly written and well documented in photographs, Moscow Monumental is a must-read for urban historians and all scholars of the Soviet era."—Heather D. DeHaan, author of Stalinist City Planning: Professionals, Performance, and Power

" Moscow Monumental is a richly researched and expertly crafted book that casts the Stalin era in a new light. Zubovich has written the first history of Moscow's skyscrapers, greatly enhancing our understanding of these monumental buildings and their role in Soviet history."—Steven E. Harris, author of Communism on Tomorrow Street: Mass Housing and Everyday Life after Stalin

"This elegantly written, highly readable, and intellectually engaging work offers a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of Stalinism and the legacy of these distinctive Stalinist skyscrapers. Historians and students of every stripe will benefit from Zubovich's exhaustive research and balanced analysis."—Cynthia A. Ruder, author of Building Stalinism: The Moscow Canal and the Creation of Soviet Space

" Moscow Monumental shows how the design, construction, and representation of Stalinist skyscrapers reshaped the urbanism of postwar Moscow. By tracing professional and personal trajectories of Soviet architects, politicians, and elite occupants, but also construction workers, displaced inhabitants, forced laborers, and archaeologists, Katherine Zubovich offers a fascinating view of Moscow from above and from the shadows of the vysotki ."—Łukasz Stanek, author of Architecture in Global Socialism: Eastern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East in the Cold War

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