NEW YORK—The nation’s first monument returned to its original location at the base of a grand window outside St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. With over five months of restoration, experts reversed most of the damage caused by 223 years of New York City weather.
The monument honors General Richard Montgomery, who died during the early stages of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress had commissioned the monument, and Benjamin Franklin, who was then an ambassador to France, hired Jean-Jacques Caffiéri to sculpt it. The monument was shipped from France to Edenton, N.C., where it remained until after the Revolutionary War.
The monument was held up by a structure of metal rods. As rust built up, the rods exerted pressure on the piece and created cracks. Glenn Boornazian, who has overseen the restoration project, prepared grout based on an 18th century recipe to fill in the cracks.
The monument was disassembled using diamond-encrusted tools and removed from the chapel wall. When a metal rod was cut to dismount the structure from a church column, the restoration team noted the purity of the metal used for the 1-inch metal rods that support the monument.
Pierre Andre Lablaude, a French architect who led the restoration of the Gardens of Versailles, noted that the marble used for the centerpiece is a rare three-color variation found in French quarries that no longer operate, according to The New York Times.
“This monument has been built with all the materials that came from France and all the materials used at that time for the construction of big monuments like Versailles, Prinaut, and Tulery,” said Lablaude.
St. Paul’s chapel opened its doors in 1766. It was saved by a bucket brigade from the Great Fire of 1776, which destroyed 500 structures. George Washington attended services at the chapel following his oath of office in 1789. For 200 years following its opening, the chapel remained an integral part of a rapidly growing downtown. In 1966, the construction of the World Trade Center began. On Sept. 11, 2001, the chapel became a relief center for ground zero workers.
The monument honors General Richard Montgomery, who died during the early stages of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress had commissioned the monument, and Benjamin Franklin, who was then an ambassador to France, hired Jean-Jacques Caffiéri to sculpt it. The monument was shipped from France to Edenton, N.C., where it remained until after the Revolutionary War.
The monument was held up by a structure of metal rods. As rust built up, the rods exerted pressure on the piece and created cracks. Glenn Boornazian, who has overseen the restoration project, prepared grout based on an 18th century recipe to fill in the cracks.
The monument was disassembled using diamond-encrusted tools and removed from the chapel wall. When a metal rod was cut to dismount the structure from a church column, the restoration team noted the purity of the metal used for the 1-inch metal rods that support the monument.
Pierre Andre Lablaude, a French architect who led the restoration of the Gardens of Versailles, noted that the marble used for the centerpiece is a rare three-color variation found in French quarries that no longer operate, according to The New York Times.
“This monument has been built with all the materials that came from France and all the materials used at that time for the construction of big monuments like Versailles, Prinaut, and Tulery,” said Lablaude.
St. Paul’s chapel opened its doors in 1766. It was saved by a bucket brigade from the Great Fire of 1776, which destroyed 500 structures. George Washington attended services at the chapel following his oath of office in 1789. For 200 years following its opening, the chapel remained an integral part of a rapidly growing downtown. In 1966, the construction of the World Trade Center began. On Sept. 11, 2001, the chapel became a relief center for ground zero workers.
