Professional Circle Members Attend July 9 Breakfast on NYPL
On Thursday, July 9, we were pleased to welcome Professional Circle members to another breakfast meeting.
Fifteen members attended a talk by architect Tim Allanbrook of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates on the restoration of the New York Public Library, highlighting the extensive masonry work on the facades.
The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street is one of the City’s architectural and cultural treasures. Designed by Carrère and Hastings and completed in 1911, this Beaux-Arts masterpiece is one of the world’s leading research institutions.
In anticipation of the library’s centennial celebration, the NYPL has undertaken a major restoration of the façade. The library’s exterior is constructed of White Mountain marble quarried in Danby, Vermont; at the time of completion, it was the largest marble building in the country. In the years since, the forces of weather and urban pollution have taken their toll, wearing away at the beauty of the intricate stone structure, causing surface loss and deterioration, thousands of cracks and spalls, and the localized displacement of stone units. WJE was retained to provide investigation, design, and construction related services for this project.
The first phase of construction, on the Bryant Park façade, was completed in 2008; work at the north and south façades and courtyards is underway this summer, and the restoration of the monumental façade and entry on Fifth Avenue will be start next year.
WJE has employed state-of-the-art techniques to investigate, document, and test several thousand stone and marble elements. The majority of work on the massive building is the restoration of flat surfaces, architectural and fine art ornament, and sculptures. A small army of contractors and subcontractors has used pointing, traditional cleaning, patching, consolidation, laser cleaning, and Dutchman repairs on the marble and stone to repair and restore features damaged over the last century. The scope of work also includes treatments to the windows, doors, and roofs, all in a building which many hundreds of people continue to use every day.
