Walking the
Internet:
Princeton
NYC

For the Princeton walk, we recommend you budget 1-2 hours. Feel free to skip stops if needed and/or adapt our route based on your needs.

Computer Science Department Servers

A dark room illuminated by the blinking of small lights connected to massive computer structures.

“How little we know about the internet's physical side is pretty crazy. We're online consistently, and we don't realize all that's happening in the background that makes it all possible.”
- Avi

Reveries, 2017

These paintings (blue, red, and yellow) depict the female “hosts” (robots) of the television series Westworld in moments when they realize their sentience or lack thereof. By Crystal Qian.

“To be honest, I never really think too much about how the Internet works, which looking back makes me upset that I didn't have that curiosity--how could I not want to know? I guess because it's been around since before I was born, I take it so much for granted that I just never really wonder about it. It's like wondering why birds have feathers, or something like that. I never really think of the Internet as a physical thing. It's all just those dotted lines connecting circles and clouds to me. I had no clue we were walking on top of text messages and video calls and transactions and the like. It's right beneath us!”
- Marie

Traffic Control Box

A box to hide/protect all the cables and hardware controlling the pedestrian walk signals.

“I am much more aware of the network infrastructure around me. It is easy to simply walk past manhole covers and street markings without caring as we go about our day-to-day. I would argue that most people do this. This book, however, inspires us to ask questions and be curious about the things that seem mundane at times as they can be really interesting.”
- Ian

Communications Panel Cover

Panel covering communications cables

Is the internet being hidden, or protected? What do you think? Or is it just hiding in plain sight?

Phone Booth

An emergency phone system. Looks older than most of the blue lights inside campus.

Bell System

A manhole cover for the Bell System. According to Wiki these are telephone service systems and were founded in the 1870s. Now they are used by AT&T.

“ ‘The stones I design will also change. Not in my lifetime, and not in the family's, but over the next hundreds of years, the stones will take new shapes.’ This quote really stuck out to me. It made me wonder what relationships people had with specific objects that I see a hundred years ago.”
- Emmie

“Telephone of the Wind”

A public art piece in the garden of the MacLean House, which is a rotary telephone displayed in a wooden case. Above it is a plaque which states this piece was created from grief and is meant to allow people to connect with their lost loved ones.

phone directory

Electric Manhole Cover

Rusted manhole cover that reads. “Princeton University Electric”

Public Table

A concrete sculpture that's an upside-down cone, so its surface is a perfect circle that people can sit on or be around.

“Although varied in their content, the underlying theme across all of these pieces is the relationship between creation and connection. Whether it is physical art, a creative project, or something technological, humans show their love for and communicate with each other through the things that they create.”
-Oyinkansola

Electrical Panel Cover

A more elevated electrical panel outside of Murray Dodge

Entrance to Murray-Dodge Cafe

A blue sign has a simple line drawing of a teapot along with the text: “dedicated to the fine art of being open: Murray-Dodge Café: Free Coffee, Tea, and Cookies. A Program of the Office of Religious Life.”

“ if (self.hungry() == true) { eat.cookies(); }
else { return chill; } ”

Frist Campus Center

Popular place to meet up with people. Also where many student groups advertise performances and where students pick up mail.

“And community, which is vital to all humans, evolves with people, and it is something that is found in different ways in the past, the present, and the future.”
- Oyinkansola

Accessibility Center Doors

The doors within the Accessibility Center. Written on the first door, in marker, is “Share your ideas for managing stress this semester,” and below it people have responded with words and emoji magnets. Written on the second door is “How are you feeling today?” and below it people have responded with words and emoji magnets.

OIT

Princeton's Office of Information Technology

“The Internet deep deep down is a bunch of cables, and this article was a great reminder of what infrastructure is actually needed to keep the Internet going. The Internet also seems so disconnected from the physical world, but it can suffer from its environment if not taken care of properly. For instance, if these cables were not underground, they could be impacted by weather and the like, which would greatly affect the way we live life.”
- Anya

Public Safety Emergency Tower

Tall, black communication tower with a blue light on top.

CCTV

The CCTV camera on top of 1915 Hall may go unnoticed by the casual observer.

Orange & Green Utility Markings

Two utility markings placed right across from each other in front of a construction area. Orange: Telecommunications. Green: Sewer and drain.

“I thought the discussion about whether it is possible to see the internet was very interesting because I hadn’t really thought of the internet as a visible physical object. I think one of the fascinating things to read about was the meanings behind the various symbols/markings that are spray painted on the streets. When I walk around the city, I see the spray painted symbols everywhere, yet I had never learned about what they mean so it was interesting to read about it. I had not realized that the colors of the spray paint also held meaning.”
- Iroha

Electrical Box on Dorms

Electrical box attached to the outside of Yoseloff Hall, placed right on the outside of dorm windows.

Electrical Panel Cover

Electrical panel in Scully Hall Courtyard

Overlapping Descending Stairs

Set of curved descending stairs adjacent to each other, from floor 2 to basement.

“The beginning of Networks of New York where Burrington speaks about the veil which seems to cover the technicalities of the internet reminded me of how when I was younger I thought that my classmates who could code, and were working on things like bread boards or raspberry pi (in middle school) were geniuses. In middle school, I was watching Youtube and playing Mall World on Facebook...So compared to what I was exposed to/knew about, my classmates seemed to be do doing things that were worlds away. But, as I learned these seemingly impossibly complex things myself, I'd come to realize that it's not so exclusive/reserved for the gifted. I think how I felt about my classmates projects is how many people might think of the internet. There's a thin layer of surface knowledge, and some sort of self-doubt that makes people hesitate to want to know more. I like the introduction of the internet as something physical (massive networks of optic cables) because I think it helps bridge the gap that exists for so many people in their understanding of the internet. It seems like tangibles are easier to understand than the theoretical and/or detached.”
- Britney

Washington Road from Streicker Bridge

Washington Road Cuts right through Princeton's Campus. This shot gives a great view of the separation.

“I've mostly just considered it as a space online, like a remote/imaginary internet land. I've never given any substantial thought to the physicality of the internet, and it still weirds me out to think about those long undersea internet cables actually existing in the ocean... I really liked the underground portion of the book, especially the little drawings that would go with it. Almost like learning a new language/symbols--it was especially fun to look at some of the signs on the field trip too. It was so interesting that all the markings on the streets that I previously would've simply walk pass were a set of symbols and in some ways internet language.”
- Irene

Symmetric Fork

A symmetric fork on Streicker Bridge to two generally similar but not identical paths.

Princeton Neuroscience Institute

A view of the Princeton's neuroscience building. The lines of the reflective windows bending inwards give the energy of connectivity.

“To that, I say experimentation is more important than theory (or definition) creation in daily human life. To be sure, it is vital to have rough working definitions of “service” to provide us with rough templates of our objectives and what questions to ask. However, the application of definitions to experimenting on the canvas of the human condition is what truly gives “service” its meaning.”
- Minh

The Princeton Line + communication

The Princeton Line by Maya Lin, and a communications handhole. The Princeton Line is in reference to the old Dinky train line

“I, probably like most people, was completely unaware of how many of these markings were even related to the internet. I thought, for example, mancovers were only to access sewer or drainage tunnels. With that being said, I have noticed various markings mentioned in the text when walking around campus. I always knew internet was physical (to a degree), but after reading the text, it is much more physical than I realized. Now, however, the internet seems more fragile; it seems much more likely that there can be physical failures from human causes although I realize one line being disrupted does not destroy the whole system.”
- David

Reflecting Pool at Lewis Center

A magenta parallelogram is actually a window (portal) to the below lobby of the Lewis Center. On top of it is water, a reflecting pool

“I think a person can be their “best self” on the internet if she utilizes it to gain useful knowledge about topics that she is passionate about. I think the openness of the web comes with many implications. Because anyone can build a website or write a blog, misinformation is rampant. At the same time, the web is a place where various people can connect with one another. I think people should make an effort to decrease misinformation and increase genuine connections on the web.”
- Alice

Princeton Dinky

The Princeton Dinky at rest before departing soon. A great way to get to New York!

go to NYC!