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Preservation in Action! (Current Projects)
There’s never a dull moment for the Preservation team at Old Westbury Gardens. While May be designated National Preservation Month, here it is celebrated year-round. Preservation oversees historic structures, the Westbury House collections and interiors, and the archival collections.
The historic landscapes surrounding Westbury House are composed of “hardscape” or manmade features that complement the plantings in the specialty gardens. The restoration of the Boxwood reflecting pool and colonnade has begun thanks to grants from the NYS Environmental Protection Fund, the Gerry Charitable Trust, and the Margaret Sullivan Foundation. The garden was designed by the English firm White and Allom in 1928 and provided a pleasing vista from Westbury House West Porch.
The reflecting pool was often plagued with algae and insects due to inadequate water circulation it would have to be manually drained, cleaned and refilled – a labor intensive task. The restoration will maintain the pools original configuration and marble collar but will have a modernized circulation system designed to keep the pool invitingly clean and freeing staff to address other projects. The ten-column colonnade will be cleaned and open mortar joints throughout the structure repaired. With good weather the project should be completed by.
In Westbury House, the impressive Dining Room silver chandelier is being cleaned and gently polished at Aurora Lampworks, conservators to many historic buildings and museums in the metro area. The fixture was designed by George Crawley for the Dining Room in Henry Phipps’s Fifth Avenue mansion and was fabricated in New York City by electrical lighting pioneer Edward F. Caldwell. Twenty years later, the room was salvaged from the soon to be razed mansion and reinstalled in Westbury House. The chandelier body is difficult to clean due to the complex relief pattern referred to as repousse – designs hammered into sculptural form from the interior of the bowl-like components. As the conservators carefully remove decades of grime, the features begin to visually pop. The challenge is to respect the age of the fixture, the fact that it has its original silver plate, and the knowing that our cleaning will be one of many in the coming years, so a conservative approach and a soft finish will most likely result – not bright and shiny
Enhancing the service wing kitchen restoration is a gift of a vast array of copper cookware similar to what would have been used in Westbury House (see image below). From petit measuring vessels to impressive poaching containers for 40 lb. salmon and turbot – each with its own special shape. Over the winter volunteers worked with curator Laura Cinturati to clean and polish the many unusual pieces for display in the newly installed Scullery dresser recently discovered in another area of the house and reinstalled in its original location.
Recently discovered documents, photos, drawings and maps are adding to our knowledge of life on the Phipps estate throughout their long tenancy (see images below). Helping to organize and record the material is Laura Cinturati intern and recently appointed Archivist, Vanessa Nardo whose extensive background will continue our efforts. Be sure to check out the website, New York Heritage to see a sample of photos and movie reels from our collection.
~ Lorraine Gilligan, Director of Preservation
