The building at One Wall Street was constructed in 1929-31 as the corporate headquarters of the Irving Trust Company. This 50-story, limestone-faced Art Deco tower designed by the noted architect Ralph T. Walker of the firm of Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker is situated on what was considered the “most expensive real estate in New York”.
Limestone for the façade was shipped in 400 boxcar loads from quarries in Indiana, some weighing as much as 20 and 30 tons, and were carved to specific dimensions at a workshop in Long Island City.
A 30-story addition, created by the architectural firm of Voorhees, Walker Smith & Haines occupies the southern end of the lot and was added to the original building in 1963-65. The setbacks begin above the twentieth story, leading gradually to a narrow tower on the top 15 stories.
In 2016 Skyline Restoration was commissioned by Gilbane Residential Construction LLC to perform façade restoration at the building. A year later the project transitioned to J.T. Magen & Company Inc.
The scope of work consists of: Clean, repair and replace cracked and displaced limestone surfaces; create new window openings and install decorative lintels, jambs and sills; install new limestone panels to accommodate the installation of new curtain glass walls, by others.
The access to the 50-story tower with narrow set-backs was challenging but with expertise in rigging, rolling trolley outrigger scaffolds and a combination of c-hook scaffolds at lower levels, the locations of work were successfully reached.
Noteworthy is the installation of needle beam scaffolds on the 28th floor of the Exchange Place and New Street elevations, by Universal Builders Supply Inc. The beams were installed through the window openings and four levels of supported scaffold were installed above the beam to provide safe access to the floors above.
Skyline Restoration catalogued and replaced over 200 Standard Indiana Limestone panels, sills and lintels, provided by Traditional Cut Stone Ltd.
The restoration project is scheduled for completion in 2021.
Developer: Macklowe Properties Construction Managers: J.T. Magen & Company Inc. Design: Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP Architect of Record: SLCE Architects Project Architect: Hoffmann Architects Contractor: Skyline Restoration Inc.
Account Executive: Stephan Andreatos
Project Manager: Wilson Cajilima
Rendering: Copyright 2016 - Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP