Century Club Location: New York, NYOriginal Architect: Stanford WhiteYear Built: 1889 The Century Association, located in Midtown Manhattan, was designed by Stanford White with the assistance of Joseph Wells and was built in 1891. The building serves as a clubhouse and meeting point for members of the Century Association, which includes New York’s most prominent families and several world-renowned artists. The building’s delicate façade is reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance consisting of a rusticated base, a central balcony, pilasters, and many other Italian-style flourishes. The Clubhouse...

Aiken Rhett House Location: Charleston, South CarolinaYear Built: 1817 Owned and operated by Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF), the Aiken-Rhett House is nationally recognized as one of the few remaining examples of an early 19th-century urban townhouse complex in the United States. It survives with its main house as well as associated dependencies on its original building lot in Charleston. BCA led the creation of a Feasibility Study which made key recommendations for improvements to the site’s stewardship, visitation, and staff capacity, and provided Historic Charleston Foundation with...

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...

Ca’D'Zan Location: Sarasota, FloridaOriginal Architect: Dwight James BaumYear Built: 1926 Located in Sarasota, Florida, Ca’d’Zan is the former winter residence of John and Mabel Ringling. Designed by Dwight James Baum, the mansion and estate were constructed from 1924-1926. Ca’ d’Zan, which means House of John in Venetian, is a contributing element in the Caples’-Ringlings' Estates Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. John Ringling was one of five brothers internationally known for their ownership of "The Greatest Show on Earth", the Ringling Brothers and Barnum...

Federal Hall National Memorial Location: New York, New YorkOriginal Architect: Town & Davis, John FrazeeYear Built: 1834-1842 Modeled on the Parthenon by architects Alexander Jackson Davis and Ithiel Town and completed in 1842, Federal Hall National Memorial was designed as the first purpose-built U.S. Customs House for the Port of New York and constructed on the site of an earlier building where George Washington took the oath of office as our first President. In 1862, the building became the United States Sub-Treasury until 1920 when the Federal Reserve Bank replaced the Sub-Treasury...

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...

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...

Museo De Arte de Ponce Location: Ponce, Puerto Rico Original Architect: Edward Durell StoneYear Built: 1965 Designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone and completed in 1965, Museo de Arte de Ponce is located in Ponce, Puerto Rico and is the largest museum in the Caribbean. Constructed of concrete and stucco, the Museo is a classic example of Modern architecture. This project involved the restoration of the exterior envelope. As the restoration consultant, BCA conducted a hands-on conditions assessment of the exterior stucco and concrete, performed field and laboratory materials testing,...

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...

Penn Museum Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Original Architect: Wilson Eyre, Jr., Cope & Stewardson, and Frank Miles Day & Brother Year Built: 1896 Constructed over seven distinct building campaigns between 1899 and 2004, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is a contributing resource to the University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District. BCA was involved with the renovation of the 1915 Harrison Wing and the 1924 Coxe Wing Galleries. The Harrison Wing consists of an upper masonry rotunda and a lower masonry auditorium, with the upper and lower...

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...

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...

Wicks House Location: Falmouth, Maine Year Built: 1790 The Dr. Francis Wicks House is a two-story residence constructed circa 1790. The Falmouth Historical Society was gifted the house in 1932 and through research and renovations uses the house to help interpret the history of Falmouth and its people. BCA completed an Historic Structure Report that included documenting the architectural history of the building through available archival research, analysis of existing building conditions, paint analysis, treatment recommendations, a prioritization timeline for anticipated work, and projection...

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...

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...