Restoration Begins on Queens’ Oldest Synagogue
Tina Reichenbach, principal of Richbrook Conservation
Tina Reichenbach, principal of Richbrook Conservation
Scaffolding was erected at all four sides of the 1914 Tifereth Israel synagogue in Corona recently. This week, paint analysis was conducted by Richbrook Conservation to determine the building’s historic paint colors, and samples of original window trim and siding were removed by the window manufacturer, Parrett Windows, and the general contractor, Loduca Associates/Lipsky Enterprises, to facilitate accurate restoration and the preparation of shop drawings. Removal of the exterior stucco will begin later this week.
The Conservancy has been involved with the synagogue, now home to Bukharan Jews, for several years and is now overseeing the restoration on this rare wooden survivor.
In these photos, Tina Reichenbach, principal of Richbrook Conservation, takes samples of original paint from the sheet metal cornice at the front of the synagogue, the bracketed wood cornice at the rear, window and door surrounds, window sash, and clapboard. While the façade is extremely weathered and the remaining paint severely eroded, good, multi-layer samples were found at several locations. There is almost no paint remaining at the clapboard- probably as a result of “lime burn,” in which the chemical content of the cementitious stucco installed over the original clapboard in the 1930’s literally “ate” the original paint coating.
