“Let Us Raise a Standard to Which The Wise and The Honest Can Repair….”: The Preservation of Washington Square Arch

APTI Conference, Galveston, TX, November 2004, with Robin Gerstad.

Speakers: Mark Rabinowitz and Robin Gerstad
Authors: Mark Rabinowitz and Robin Gerstad

ABSTRACT

Washington Square Arch, designed by Stanford White for the terminus of Fifth Avenue in New York City and the symbolic center of Greenwich Village for more than 100 years, was conserved in a recently completed treatment.  The marble structure had suffered over its life from design flaws, inherent problems with the materials, previous mistreatments, and deferred maintenance. The project represents a case study in current methods of treating a highly friable marble structure as well as demonstrating a standard for the planning and ongoing collaboration needed to achieve that goal. Innovative uses of micro-abrasion, lime and low-viscosity epoxy injections and computer modeling were combined with traditional stone repair techniques in treating the complex problems of this significant structure.  The just completed work was the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of study, testing, evaluation and planning by conservators, art historians and architects assembled under different contracts.  The successful completion of the project relied on a number of factors, including: a comprehensive review of the findings and previous work by a panel of international masonry conservation experts, the synthesis and integration of the previous findings and the panel’s recommendations into the current project plans, the owner’s support for a treatment goal of minimal intervention with the acceptance of a degree of loss commensurate with the nature and age of the structure, the cooperation of oversight agencies, and an ongoing collaboration between the conservation contractor and designers during implementation.  The long-term success of the project will rely on the dedication of the Parks Department to continuing maintenance.  To this end, an extensive maintenance plan for the care of the monument is being developed and funds for future maintenance are being raised.  This project was recently awarded a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.