Built in 1900, the Neo-Italian Renaissance style Manhattan Appellate Division Courthouse sits on the eastern edge of Madison Square Park. Its architect, James Brown Lord, worked with major artists of his day to incorporate monumental sculptures, murals, and stained glass into the architecture, to represent aspects of the law. PBDW was hired to fully restore the interior and exterior of the courthouse, which, over more than 100 years of continuous use, had suffered from age and non-sympathetic alterations.

PBDW directed the full restoration of the Landmark courtroom, replacing light fixtures with replicas of originals, restoring original Herter Brothers wood furniture, replicating the original center oculus of the Maitland Armstrong stained glass ceiling dome, and cleaning marble walls.

We oversaw the restoration of the courthouse’s white marble exterior and its impressive collection of sculpture, repairing the damaged marble façade and sculptures, and previous repairs to the rooftop sculptures. Badly deteriorated features of the sculptures were meticulously carved by master craftsmen in white marble to match the existing, and the sculptures and building facades were consolidated to conserve the original stone. Upon completing this unique project, we returned one of New York’s few interior and exterior landmarks to its original splendor.

Architect: PBDW Architects (Paul S. Byard, Anne Holford-Smith, Joseph Berlinghieri, Stace Moye)

Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates Structural Engineers, DPC

Stone Conservation Consultant: Building and Monument Conservation

Historic Windows Consultant: Historic Window Resources, Inc.

Probes Contractor: Apple Restoration & Waterproofing

Conservation Treatment Testing: Masonry Stabilization Services Corp.

Conservation Consultant: George Wheeler, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Specialty Contractor: Archa Technology

Contractor’s Conservator: Building Conservation Associates, Inc.

Expeditor: Metropolis Group

General Contractor: ZHN Contracting

Photographers: Jonathan Wallen, Francis Dzikowski

Lucy G. Moses Award (Interior Renovation), New York Landmarks Conservancy, 2001