Nassau Street is the main downtown thoroughfare of Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

. As such, of all the streets in Princeton, Nassau Street is the one most often full of automobile and pedestrian traffic. It is the southernmost portion of Route 27

Route 27 (New Jersey)

Route 27 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 206 in Princeton Borough, Mercer County northeast to an interchange with Route 21 and Broad Street in Newark, Essex County. The route passes through many communities along the way, including New Brunswick, Metuchen,...

 and ends at U.S. Route 206

U.S. Route 206

U.S. Route 206 is a long north–south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it is the remainder of the route...

. The main gates of Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 open onto Nassau Street opposite Nassau Hall

Nassau Hall

Nassau Hall is the oldest building at Princeton University in the borough of Princeton, New Jersey . At the time it was built in 1754, Nassau Hall was the largest building in colonial New Jersey. Designed originally by Robert Smith, the building was subsequently remodeled by notable American...

. Nassau Street hosts a plethora of high-end stores and shops including Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...

. It features many places to eat: restaurants such as P.J.'s Pancake House, Triumph Brewery, Panera Bread

Panera Bread

Panera Bread is a chain of bakery–café quick casual restaurants in the United States and Canada that sells breads, sandwiches, soups, salads, and other bakery items. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.-Corporate history:In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co...

, an ice cream place called Thomas Sweet, and a self-serve yogurteria called Twist. It also has practical stores such as CVS

CVS Corporation

CVS Pharmacy, or simply CVS, is the second largest pharmacy chain in the United States , with over 7,000 stores in 41 states and Puerto Rico...

 and more. In July of 2011, Nassau Street acquired a Qdoba Mexican Grill.

The rest of downtown Princeton is found on streets off of Nassau Street such as: Witherspoon Street, Palmer Square

Palmer Square

Palmer Square is a collection of shops, restaurants, offices and residential spaces in Princeton, New Jersey. Originally built in 1936-1939 by Edgar Palmer, heir to the New Jersey Zinc fortune, the Square was created by architect Thomas Stapleton in the Colonial Revival style as the town's...

, Chamber Street, and South Tulane Street.

In August 2002, about 600 mailboxes that could have been used to mail the letters associated with the 2001 anthrax attacks

2001 anthrax attacks

The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...

were tested for anthrax. Just one was found to be positive for the spores, at 10 Nassau Street.