Park Avenue Armory—Veterans Room

A masterpiece of late 19th-century decorative arts, the Veterans Room at the historic Park Avenue Armory is the most significant surviving intact interior created by Louis Comfort Tiffany Associated Artists. Designed by Tiffany, Samuel Colman, Candace Wheeler, and Lockwood de Forest, the room represents one of the finest examples of the firm’s innovative decorative vision. As part of the Armory’s comprehensive restoration led by Herzog & de Meuron with Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, EverGreene conservators undertook an extensive investigation of the original wall coverings before collaborating with Studio E to recreate wallpaper that faithfully captured the color palette, texture, and extraordinary craftsmanship of the original design.

The project began with careful documentation and analysis of the historic wallpaper. Conservators stabilized the fragile material, meticulously released it from the walls using scalpels, and encapsulated each section for long-term preservation. With the wallpaper removed, deteriorated plaster substrates were repaired and consolidated to provide a sound surface for installation. In the studio, artists and designers developed numerous prototypes, replicating Tiffany’s complex manufacturing process through multiple hand-applied stencils, including the distinctive Japanese woodblock-inspired wave motif and layered chain-link patterns. Custom metallic inks, hand-painted highlights, and precisely engineered printing techniques recreated the subtle luminosity and dimensional quality that define the original. The result is a remarkable fusion of historic craftsmanship and contemporary conservation technology, restoring one of America’s greatest decorative interiors while preserving the original material for future generations.