Bronx Zoo Location: Bronx, New York Original Architect: Heins & LaFarge Year Built: 1899-1910  Originally known as the New York Zoological Society, the Bronx Zoo opened its doors to the public on November 8, 1899, and for more than 120 years, it has been one of New York City's major cultural attractions. BCA has been involved in several projects at the Bronx Zoo. Astor Court Astor Court, the historic center of the Zoo, consists of raised, landscaped terraces, two grand stairs leading up to the Court, and an ensemble of the Zoo’s original Beaux-Arts buildings sited around the central Sea...

Fairbanks House Location: Dedham, MassachusettsOriginal Architect: Jonathan Fairbanks (settler)Year Built: 1636 The Fairbanks House, built around 1636, is the oldest extant timber frame structure in the northeastern United States. The house was built by settler Jonathan Fairbanks for his family when they moved to Dedham, Massachusetts. The family grew and the house was passed from generation to generation until it was turned into a museum in 1905. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and was deemed a National Historic Landmark in 1960. BCA conducted...

Frederick C. Robie House Location: Chicago, IllinoisOriginal Architect: Frank Lloyd WrightYear Built: 1909 The Frederick C. Robie House, located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908-09, a period of time in Wright’s career that is considered by many to have been the most creative and productive of his life. Since its completion in 1909, the Robie House has stood as emblematic of Wright’s Prairie School of Architecture and is often characterized as a defining moment in the architect’s varied career. The Robie House is currently...

Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Location: Chicago, IllinoisOriginal Architect: Shepley Rutan and CoolidgeYear Built: 1897 The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall (GAR) consists of four rooms on the second floor of Chicago Cultural Center. The building was constructed in 1897 as the Chicago Public Library, replacing the public reading room lost during the Great Fire of 1871. The series of rooms known as GAR serve as a memorial to the veterans of the Union Army. GAR begins with a foyer, leading to the Lobby, which is decorated with ornamental plaster lunettes and bas-reliefs commemorating...

Park Avenue Armory Location: New York, New York Original Architect: Charles Clinton Year Built: 1880 BCA was part of the project team developing a preservation approach for the adaptive reuse of Park Avenue Armory, historically known as the Seventh Regiment Armory. Built as both a military facility and a social club, the reception rooms on the first floor and the company rooms on the second floor were designed by the most prominent designers and artists of the day, including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Herter Brothers, and Pottier & Stymus. As the historic preservation consultant...

Pilgrim Hall Museum Location: Plymouth, Massachusetts Original Architect: Alexander Parris Year Built: 1824 The Pilgrim Hall Museum, operated by the Pilgrim Society, is the oldest public museum in the United States. The Museum, designed by Alexander Parris, was opened in 1824 and is made mostly of Quincy Granite. Since its opening, the museum as survived many changes, including the addition of the Steinway Library in 1904. The library addition interior includes a Guastavino tile ceiling, a carved limestone fireplace, and a terrazzo floor with a mosaic tile border. BCA's work included initial...

Samara Location: Lafayette, Indiana Original Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright Year Built: 1956 BCA was the historic materials consultant for Samara, the John and Catherine Christian House, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1956, Samara is an example of Wright’s Usonian house design. It became a National Historic Landmark in 2015, the same year that Dr. Christian died, and the house became a full-time museum open to the public. BCA’s work provided information about the house’s original materials to inform the current restoration project. The...

Vanderbilt Mansion Location: Hyde Park, New York Original Architect: McKim, Mead & WhiteYear Built: 1896-1899 Vanderbilt Mansion, designed by McKim, Mead, and White and built from 1896 to 1899, was used as a vacation home for Frederick Vanderbilt and is now a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The grand Beaux-Arts estate has 54 rooms and is constructed of of Indiana Limestone. BCA was retained by the National Park Service to perform an on-site examination of the ceiling of the Dining Room. The ceiling was brought from Italy by Stanford White and installed...

177 Huntington Avenue Location: Boston, Massachusetts Year Built: 1972 Original Architect: I.M. Pei & Partners and Araldo Cossutta Associated Architects  The Christian Science Plaza was designed in the 1970’s by I. M. Pei & Associates. The Church added new concrete structures and landscaping to existing historic church buildings to create a unified complex. One of these buildings, 177 Huntington Avenue, or the Plaza's Administration Building was built in 1972. This Modernist building is constructed of concrete and is a listed Boston Landmark. BCA performed cleaning tests, including...

1328 N. State Parkway Location: Chicago, IllinoisYear Built: 1936Original Architect: Andrew N. Rebori BCA was the materials consultant for 1328 North State Parkway in Chicago, Illinois. Architect Andrew Rebori designed the property in 1936 as two separate houses connected by a central courtyard. The artist Lillian Florsheim purchased the property in 1946 for herself and her daughter, Nancy. In 1949, Florsheim began working with architect Bertrand Goldberg to renovate the property, a process that lasted until 1957. The most notable alteration was the installation of a “bridge” that connected...

Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Location: Washington, D.C.Year Built: 1934Original Architect: Arthur Brown, Jr. The Departmental Auditorium was constructed from 1932 to 1934 as the connecting wing between the new Interstate Commerce Commission and Department of Labor buildings. The complex of three buildings was San Francisco architect Arthur Brown, Jr.’s contribution to the government’s larger Federal Triangle development. In 1987, the Auditorium was renamed for Andrew W. Mellon, Treasury Secretary during the Federal Triangle project. Upon its completion, the Auditorium became the largest government-owned...

Bach House Location: Chicago, IllinoisYear Built: 1915Original Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright The Bach House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Emil Bach, owner of the Bach Brick Company, and built in 1915. The house is one of Wright’s last small urban commissions and is one of only a few Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the City of Chicago. The simple and compact house is “semi-cubist” in design. The geometry of the design is accentuated by the placement of specific materials as well as colors on the exterior, making the material choice and color palette an important part of Wright’s original...

Belmont Chapel Location: Newport, Rhode IslandYear Built: 1886Original Architect: George C. Mason & Son, William Gosling Belmont Chapel, located in Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, was designed in the gothic revival style by George Champlin Mason, Sr, and was constructed in 1886 as a memorial to Jane Pauline Belmont, who died in 1875 at the age of 19. In 1891 the Belmont family hired the prominent architect Richard Morris Hunt to redesign the interior and exterior, for comfort and aesthetic purposes. Hunt added additional Gothic-style structural and sculptural elements to...

Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building Location: Boston, Massachusetts Year Built: 1895 Original Architect: John Lyman Faxon  The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building integrates three historic buildings into the new transportation center and city office complex. The Ferdinand Building, built in 1895 and designed by John Lyman Faxon, is a triangular, five story, Baroque Revival building, constructed of limestone, terra cotta, decorative multicolored brick, marble and granite. The Curtis Building, built in 1888, is a brick building with brownstone trim, while the Waterman Building, built in 1890,...

Cathedral St. John The Divine Location: New York, New YorkYear Built: 1892Original Architect: Heins & LaFarge, Ralph Adams Cram (1911) Located in Morningside Heights, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is one of the largest in the world. Dating from 1892, it evolved from the designs of Heins and LaFarge who were succeeded by Ralph Adams Cram. The Cathedral has never been completed. In 2017, the Cathedral and its Close were declared a New York City landmark. BCA has been assisting the Cathedral since 1995 with special projects. We have performed comprehensive interior and exterior...

Central Park Police Precinct Location: New York, New York Year Built: 1871 Original Architect: Jacob Wrey Mould  The Central Park Police Precinct, a national and New York City landmark located on the site of the original Central Park stable complex, has been home to the New York City Police Department since 1936. Designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, and erected between 1869 and 1871, the stable complex was intended by park designers Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux to form part of the Greensward Plan’s park administration complex, which was to include a police station, four other utilitarian...

Ed Sullivan Theater Location: New York, New York Year Built: 1927Original Architect: Herbert J. Krapp BCA was the restoration consultant for the 1993 restoration of the interior. The Ed Sullivan Theatre, located in Midtown Manhattan's Theater District, is famous for hosting the The Ed Sullivan show and several CBS Late Night shows such as "Late Night with David Letterman" and the current "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". The building, Originally known as the Hammerstien Theatre was built from 1926-1927 in the Neo-Gothic Style by Herbert J. Krapp is listed on the National Register of...

Hollywood Masonic Temple Location: Los Angeles, CaliforniaYear Built: 1926Original Architect: John C. Austin Designed by John C. Austin, the façade was conceived in a neo-classical mode while the interior was an eclectic mix of neo classical and Arts and Crafts detailing. Originally a masonic temple, the building now serves as a television studio and is part of the El Capitan Entertainment Centre. BCA created Historic American Building Survey (HABS) documentation for the building, including creating measured drawings, historic research, and preservation guidelines. Subsequently, BCA oversaw...

Fenway Park Location: Boston, MassachusettsYear Built: 1912Original Architect: James E. McLaughlin Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest major league baseball park in the United States and is designated as a National Landmark. Fenway Park was originally designed by James E. McLaughlin and is constructed of steel, brick and concrete and is comprised of several buildings making up the park, its most famous being the original 1912 Yawkey Building. As part of a comprehensive restoration, funded in part by Federal Historic Tax Credits, BCA has provided the Red Sox with services including...

Filene's Burnham Building Location: Boston, MassachusettsYear Built: 1911Original Architect: Daniel H. Burnham The Filene’s Building was designed by Daniel Burnham in 1912 as the flagship store for William Filene and Sons’ regional retail empire. The brick and terra cotta building is known as a shining example of Beaux Arts architecture in Boston and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The building currently houses retail shops, office space and residential units. BCA provided a building survey, treatment recommendations, and construction documents for the original...