The New York Public Library Will Restore its Fifth Avenue Building's Historic Facade

Project to be Completed in Time for Building's 2011 Centennial

(New York City, December 20, 2007)

The monumental marble facade of The New York Public Library stretches 390 feet along Fifth Avenue in a grand statement of presence and purpose. Yet in the 96 years since the building opened, the Library's exterior, which also faces Bryant Park, 42nd Street and 40th Street, has been subject to forces of weather and urban pollution that have taken their toll, wearing away at the beauty and form of the intricate stone structure. Today the Library announced that it is undertaking a three-year restoration of the facade of the historic building now formally known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. The project will include a complete cleaning of the building's Vermont marble, repair of almost 3,000 cracks, protection and preservation of the many sculptural elements, and repair of the building's roof, stairs, and plazas. The restoration will be completed in time for the building's centennial, in 2011.

"We are deeply grateful to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Governors Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki, and Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, for providing the funding that is allowing us to proceed with this renovation," said Library Chairman Catherine C. Marron. "With their support, along with substantial private contributions, we are able to make one of the City's and America's most magnificent landmarks sparkle again."

"The restoration of our Library's exterior is part of a decades' long plan to revive the grandeur of the finest example of Beaux-Arts architecture," said Library President Paul LeClerc.  "All of the glorious interior spaces have been restored, and now we have to turn our attention to the exterior."

The landmark building, a white marble Beaux-Arts revival, designed by John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings, was completed in 1911 after 12 years of construction. At the time, it was the largest marble structure in the United States. Since then, through exposure to the elements, the building's exterior has suffered surface loss and deterioration as well as cracks, spalls, and localized displacement of stone units.

The restoration design has been completed by WJE Engineers & Architects under the direction of the Library's Department of Capital Planning and Construction. WJE has previously designed facade restorations for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

For the Library restoration, the WJE team studied the original architectural drawings by Carrère and Hastings. These drawings, which had been carefully preserved in the Library’s archives, were digitized and served as a roadmap for the team to record its findings from the inspection of the facade. The building was extensively surveyed from a boom lift and swing stages, although to evaluate difficult to reach areas, members of WJE's Difficult Access Team rapelled and dropped down with a series of ropes suspended from the roof, in much the way that mountain climbers do.

During the four-month survey and inspection process the team reported finding significant damage to the building’s facade and roof. Gentle probing of deteriorated surfaces of mortar joints determined the depth and nature of deterioration. In some areas, the “sugaring,” a granular-like deterioration, of the marble was so severe that pieces of the architectural detailing had eroded and wasted away. A comprehensive roof survey showed the extensive need for repair. Team members recorded all of the details of these conditions on portable electronic tablets, which wirelessly linked digital photographs into the CAD drawings for a comprehensive look at what lay ahead.  In the subsequent phase of the assessment, fragments and core samples of the marble were taken to WJE's labs, where potential repair techniques and materials were selected and carefully applied in trial repairs.

Currently, protective netting and sidewalk bridges have been installed around the perimeter of the building to protect Library users and pedestrians from potential loose debris. Restoration work will begin in spring 2008, starting with the Bryant Park facade. The complex restoration process will utilize high-temperature, low-pressure steam to clean the building, with laser techniques to clean the most delicate areas. The facade and roof will be repaired and restored, and the fine arts restoration will return the fountains, attic figures, and pediment groups to their original glory. Some of the architectural detailing, including the keystone lion heads that repeat along the facade, will require “Dutchman” repairs in which a new piece of marble, carved to match the original, is secured into surrounding stone. The project includes repair of the Library's approaches, including stairs and plazas, and a new system of exterior lighting will highlight the building’s architectural glory for the thousands of onlookers who pass by after nightfall. The exterior lighting will provide the final flourish to the facade, which will be officially unveiled at the building’s centennial, in 2011.

Funding
Under the leadership of Library Chairman Catherine C. Marron, $49 million for the project was generously provided by the City of New York: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Christine C. Quinn, City Council Speaker; Scott M. Stringer, Manhattan Borough President; the New York City Council Manhattan Delegation; the State of New York: Eliot L. Spitzer, Governor; George E. Pataki, Governor 1995 – 2006; Joseph L. Bruno, New York State Senate Temporary President and Majority Leader; the New York State Senate and Senator Liz Krueger; Sheldon Silver, New York State Assembly Speaker; the New York State Assembly and Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried; and United States Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer. Generous support has also been provided by Virginia James and by Judy and John M. Angelo and Mary McConnell Bailey.

In addition to construction for the facade restoration the project budget includes costs for design and construction management, testing, temporary facade protection, site restoration work, exterior lighting installation, and related costs. More than $5 million is still needed to complete the project.

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. It comprises four research centers – the Humanities and Social Science Library; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry and Business Library – and 87 Branch Libraries in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items, including materials for the visually impaired. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English as a second language. The Library serves some 16 million patrons who come through its doors annually and another 25 million users internationally, who access collections and services through the NYPL website, www.nypl.org.

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Contact :             Herb Scher at 212.592.7700 or   HScher@nypl.org           

HS:   12.20.07 :nypl072