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...

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...

Georgia O’Keeffe House and Studio Location: Abiquiu, New MexicoOriginal Architect: Maria ChabotYear Built: 1744, 1949 The 20th century American artist, Georgia O’Keeffe, acquired a 19th c. traditional adobe house in Abiqui, New Mexico in 1945 and transformed it into a “modern” Home and Studio. The Home and Studio that resulted from O’Keeffe’s changes to the building, as well as her 45 years of occupancy, embody her modernist aesthetic. The Museum engaged a multidisciplinary team, including BCA, to determine the condition and preservation risks of the site and structures. The team combined research...

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...

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...

Miller House & Garden Location: Columbus, Indiana Original Architect: Eero SaarinenYear Built: 1957 The Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana, is one of the country’s most highly regarded examples of mid-century Modernist residences. It was designed by Eero Saarinen, with interiors by Alexander Girard and landscape design by Daniel Urban Kiley. The Miller House and Garden was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000. BCA is part of a multi-disciplinary team that is preparing a Conservation Master Plan of the Miller House and Garden with the goals to articulate an overarching...

Nichols House Museum Location: Boston, Massachusetts Original Architect: Charles Bulfinch Year Built: 1804 The Nichols House, located on 55 Mount Vernon Street, is a Federal style row house built by Jonathan Mason in 1805. Its design is attributed to Charles Bulfinch. Arthur Nichols purchased the house in 1885, and his eldest daughter Rose Nichols left the house to be a museum upon her death in 1960. Listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the Beacon Hill Historic District. The House is shown with the furnishings of the Nichols family and...

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...

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...

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...

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...

1307 Locust Street Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Year Built: 1851  BCA was the Historic Preservation Tax Credit (HPTC) consultant for the adaptive reuse of a rowhouse at 1307 Locust Street in Philadelphia, PA. The house, constructed in 1851, had been used since 1906 by the New Century Guild (NCG), a women’s membership organization that provides support to women in the labor force. The NCG used the building as a headquarters and clubhouse in virtually the same manner for over 100 years with very few modifications. In 1993, the building was selected as a prime example of a site of importance...

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...

Asbury Park Boardwalk Location: Asbury Park, New Jersey Year Built: 1929 Original Architect: Warren & Wetmore  The Asbury Park Convention Hall Complex, located on Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is comprised of three structures: the Convention Hall, the Arcade, and the Paramount Theater. The complex was constructed between 1929 and 1930 by the City of Asbury Park and was in city ownership until 2004. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. A 2004 historic preservation easement held by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) ensures the...

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...

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...

Brooklyn Public Library, Eastern Parkway Branch Location: Brooklyn, New York Year Built: 1914 Original Architect: Raymond Almirall  Designed by Raymond F. Almirall, the Eastern Parkway Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is a 1914 Beaux Arts building constructed as part of industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s gift of $5.2 million to New York City for the construction of a comprehensive branch library system in the five boroughs. The Library is located at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Because of the library’s location on Eastern Parkway,...