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...

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...

Fort Kent Location: Fort Kent, MaineYear Built: 1839 Fort Kent sits along Fish River in Northern Maine. This iconic blockhouse of hand-hewn cedar timbers with overhanging second story was built circa 1838 and was named after Governor Edward Kent. Fort Kent is the last that remains of several forts built along the Saint John River by the state of Maine. BCA developed measured drawings adhering to the Historic American Building Survey standards. Traditional manual measurement techniques were employed to capture all elements of the building detailing dimensions, joinery, profiles, loopholes,...

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...

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...

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...

National Museum of African American History and Culture Location: Washington, D.C. Original Architect: David Adjaye, Phil Freelon, Zena Howard, J. Max Bond Jr.Year Built: 2016 The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opened to the public in September 2016 after years of construction and decades of planning. The lower floors contain the History Galleries, which chronologically present artifacts telling the story of African Americans’ experience in, and contributions to, the United States. Several of these artifacts are entire structures transported from around...

Newark Museum Location: Newark, New Jersey Year Built: 1784 (Lyons Farm School House), 1861 (Polhemus House), 1885 (Ballantine House), 1870 (Ward Carriage House), 1929 (51 Central Avenue) BCA served as the historic preservation consultant to the Newark Museum during its proposed Signature Project campaign for strategic expansion. The Museum campus is located in the James Street Commons Historic District, listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. The Museum campus is a multi-property resource of urban buildings and landscapes from various periods that reflect the growth...

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...

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...

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...

The Mount Location: Lennox, Massachusetts Year Built: 1902 The Mount, Edith Wharton’s classically inspired 113-acre estate and gardens in Lenox, MA, was constructed in 1902 and is a National Historic Landmark. The estate grounds include the Main House, the Stables, the Gatehouse and Greenhouse. BCA has worked with The Mount from 2012 to the present. During this time, BCA has provided historic preservation and architectural conservation consulting services for several projects, including: The Stable, the Mount Terrace, the Forecourt Walls, and currently the Gatehouse. BCA conducted building...