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...

Hamilton Grange Location: New York, New YorkOriginal Architect: John McComb Jr.Year Built: 1802 Hamilton Grange is believed to be the only home owned by Alexander Hamilton, one of the United States’ founding fathers. Hamilton built this Federal style country house in 1801-02. Hamilton Grange was moved in 2008, to a site one block away within St. Nicholas Park. After the move was completed, the restoration of the exterior and interior began. This project focused on completing the interior and exterior architectural restoration and rehabilitation, including building and site improvements and...

Hingham Historical Society Location: Hingham, MassachusettsYear Built: 1686 The Hingham Historical Society, started in 1914, works to preserve and document the history of Hingham, Massachusetts. BCA has worked on Historic Structure Reports for two historic buildings owned and operated by the Hingham Historical Society, Old Derby and Old Ordinary. Old Derby was built in 1818 as the school building for Derby Academy. It is a three-story, wood frame, Federal style building. BCA completed an Historic Structure Report for Old Derby documenting the architectural history of the building, its...

Mayflower House Museum Plymouth, MassachusettsOriginal Architect: Edward WinslowYear Built: 1754 The Mayflower Society House, owned by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1941, is a two-story, high-style Georgian / Colonial Revival period home, built by Edward Winslow in 1754. In 1835 Ralph Waldo Emerson was married in this historic building. The property is located within the local Plymouth Historic District and the Plymouth Village National Register Historic District. BCA’s Historic Structure Report for the property included documenting the architectural history of the building...

Newark Museum, Ballantine House Location: Newark, New Jersey Original Architect: George Edward HarneyYear Built: 1884 The Ballantine House is a red brick mansion with Wyoming Grey sandstone trim designed by George Edward Harney and constructed in 1885 for Jeannette and John Holme Ballantine of the celebrated Newark beer-brewing family. Located on the campus of The Newark Museum of Art (NMOA) in Newark, New Jersey, it is a major object in the collections of the NMOA and houses its period rooms and Decorative Arts galleries. The Ballantine House is a National Historic Landmark, a contributing...

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...

Second Bank of the U.S. Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Original Architect: William Strickland Year Built: 1818-1824 The Second Bank of the United States was designed in 1818 by William Strickland and constructed between 1819 and 1824. The building represents the federal government’s second attempt to establish a national banking institution and signified Philadelphia’s importance as the financial center of the country. The National Park Service acquired this building in 1939 and it now serves as a gallery museum open to the public within the Independence National Historical Park. BCA...

Smithsonian Castle Location: Washington, D.C. Original Architect: Cluss and Schulze Year Built: 1881 BCA’s materials conservations services at two Smithsonian Institution buildings, The Arts and Industries Building (AIB) and Smithsonian Institution Building (SIB), began in 2021 as part of the Institution’s major Revitalize Historic Core project. The Renaissance Revival style Arts and Industries Building, completed in 1881, was designed by Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze. The Smithsonian Institution Building, also known as The Castle, is the home to Smithsonian’s administrative offices and information...

79th Street Rotunda Location: New York, New YorkYear Built: 1937Original Architect: Clinton Lloyd, Gilmore David Clark The 79th Street Rotunda was planned by former New York City/State Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, designed by architect and engineer Clinton Lloyd, and completed in 1937. Constructed to bridge the railroad tracks below and allow easy access to and from the Henry Hudson Parkway, it is located at the terminus of West 79th Street, between the 79th Street Boat Basin Marina in the Hudson River and the Henry Hudson Parkway. Owned and operated by the NYC Department of Parks...

Boston Public Library Location: Boston, Massachusetts Year Built: 1895 Original Architect: Charles Follen McKim  The Boston Public Library, built in 1895, is a grand Classical Revival style structure located in the heart of Copley Square and is a local and National Landmark. Conceived as a “palace for the people,” it exemplifies Boston’s 19th century municipal pride as well as Charles Follen McKim’s genius for integrating architecture and art. A modern addition was added in 1971, designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson and has local Landmark designation. BCA prepared a Historic Structure...

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...

D.C. Courts Location: Washington, D.C. Year Built: 1820-1849 Original Architect: George Hadfield  BCA has served as the restoration consultant for the DC District Court system since 2005 and in that time has overseen the exterior restoration and repair of five historic courthouses. The limestone buildings date from the 1930s to the 1970s and include the original Washington, DC City Hall, now the DC Court of Appeals, which is a National Historic Landmark. BCA’s role at the five buildings has consisted of existing conditions assessments, laboratory and field testing, construction documents,...

General Motors Tech. Center Location: Warren, MichiganYear Built: 1949-1970Original Architect: Eero Saarinen (1956) Thomas Church, Landscape Architect (1956) Argonaut (1956) General Motors Corporate Campus often called the Tech Center was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956. Located in Warren, Michigan, the campus over 50 buildings exemplary of the International Style. The campus is designated a Historic Landmark of Michigan and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. BCA’s work on the multi-billion dollar restoration and rehabilitation of the nearly mile-square complex began...

Grand Central Terminal Location: New York, New York Year Built: 1913Original Architect: Warren & Wetmore Grand Central Terminal, designed by Reed & Stem and Warren & Wetmore and completed in 1913, is one of New York City’s preeminent architectural landmarks. The terminal stands as a Beaux-Arts monument to America’s Railway Age and was constructed as the crown jewel of the Vanderbilt Empire’s New York Central Railroad. Designated as a New York City Landmark in 1967 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), and an Interior Landmark in 1980, Grand Central Terminal...

Harvard Stadium Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts Year Built: 1903Original Architect: Louis J. Johnson Harvard Stadium's design was derived from the ancient Greek and Roman arenas, such as the Amphitheater at Verona, Italy and Athens Stadium in Greece. It was designed and engineered by Professor L.J. Johnson and J.R. Worchester, in consultation with C.F. McKim, of the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. Built in 1903 and added on to in 1909, the Stadium is constructed with reinforced concrete. It was the first and largest reinforced concrete structure of its time and its building...

Kings County Supreme Courthouse Location: Brooklyn, New York Year Built: 1932 Original Architect: King and Tackritz of Brooklyn  Kings County Courthouse was constructed in 1932, and designed by King and Tacktitz of Brooklyn in the Renaissance Revival style. BCA performed a preliminary assessment of the interior spaces and created preservation levels to ensure that the historic character and material integrity of the interiors is considered during the planning process for rehabilitation of the building. In the design phase, BCA conducted a conditions’ assessment survey of the plaster ceiling,...

Los Angeles Central Library Location: Los Angeles, California Year Built: 1926 Original Architect: Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue  The Los Angeles Central Library or the Richard J. Riordan Central Library complex is considered to be the largest library in the United States. The Main building was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in the ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Revival Style. The library, built in 1926, is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and is in the National Register of Historic Places. BCA conducted a conditions survey of the exterior of the library and prepared plans and...

Michigan State Capitol Location: Lansing, Michigan Year Built: 1871 Original Architect: Elijah E. Myers  The Michigan State Capitol, designed by architect Elijah E. Myers, was completed in 1879. In contrast to its somewhat restrained exterior, the Capitol’s lively interior decorative finishes are executed in a brilliant palette, employing a broad range of colors and painted details. BCA was part of a consulting team charged with evaluating the Capitol’s building systems and the impact of those systems on the building's historic fabric. BCA surveyed the entire interior of the building and conducted...

Moynihan Train Station Location: New York, New YorkYear Built: 1913Original Architect: McKim, Mead & White The James A. Farley Building was constructed from 1909 to 1913 according to the design of William Mitchell Kendall of McKim, Mead & White. The firm's design for a monumental Beaux-Arts building located in the business center of Manhattan features a grand row of twenty Corinthian columns along its principal facade on Eighth Avenue. The building was officially opened as the Pennsylvania Terminal Post Office on September 1, 1914. In 1918, the Pennsylvania Terminal Post Office...