Masonry Magazine July 1979 Page. 14
Restoration Work Underway
On Historic 55 Wall St.
Building in New York City
A major building restoration effort is underway to renovate Citibank's historic 55 Wall Street Building in New York City. The structure has been designated as both a city and national landmark.
The reconstruction, begun in December, 1978 and scheduled to last between 12 and 18 months, will include removal and replacement of the parapet wall, expert stone restoration, and strengthening and replacement of structural steel.
According to Nicholas J. Papanikolaw, Citibank's vice president, the project has been approved by the City Landmarks Commission, and when complete, "the exterior of the 136-year-old building will look exactly as it did before the renovation."
Citibank discovered the need for the major restoration during normal maintenance procedures. "While we were doing standard pinning and pointing," Papanikolaw recalled, "we noticed one cornice jutting out a bit. We called in Purdy & Henderson Associates, structural engineers, who recommended that the stone restoration be done.
"We selected Miller-Druck Co., Inc., one of the leading stone restoration firms in the country, to do the intricate job of removing and replacing every stone in the parapet wall. The stones weigh at least 1,500 pounds each and will have to be brought down by crane. Then, after other work is completed, the restored stones will be lifted and placed by hand in their proper place," Papanikolaw said.
To ensure pedestrian safety during construction, steel supports and plywood platforms will be built at the first-story level on every street. The platform for Wall Street, however, will not be erected until the work on the Wall Street side begins, so that the famous facade of the building will still be visible.
To accommodate the two super-cranes needed for the work, street closings will be required, but the bank will close off only one street at a time. "We are going out of our way not to disturb auto traffic or pedestrians."
New York's historic 55 Wall Street building, a city and national landmark, which is undergoing major restoration. Scheduled for completion by mid-1980, the renovation includes removal and replacement of the parapet wall, expert stone restoration, and strengthening and replacement of structural steel.
Papanikolaw stressed, "while concentrating first and foremost of course, on safety."
The site at 55 Wall Street first gained prominence in 1823 when the original Merchant's Exchange building was erected. The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1835 and rebuilt in 1842.
The new building took in an entire city block between Wall Street, Hanover Street. Exchange Place and William Street. Along the Wall Street facade were erected 16 Ionic columns, 38 feet and three inches high and weighing 41 tons apiece. When these columns arrived from the granite quarry at Quincy, Mass., 40 teams of oxen were used to haul them up Wall Street from the wharf on the East River.
In 1863, the building was purchased by the Federal Government and, for the next 26 years, served as the Custom House. Its dome was a familiar landmark seen in many old prints depicting 19th century New York.
The bank purchased 55 Wall Street in 1899 and proceeded to build a four-story addition which enclosed the original dome. This super-structure is fronted by a colonnade of the Corinthian order which preserved the integrity of the basic architectural design.
The main banking area was designed on the order of the Pantheon in Rome. It featured the original elliptical-shaped dome of the Merchant's Exchange. The original 24 Corinthian columns of solid marble, all three feet in diameter and 29 feet, 8½ inches high, were supplemented with matching balustrades.