Canal Fountain

The original landscape design for Kykuit (The Rockefeller Estate) in Tarrytown, NY includes a marble canal in the gardens to the north of the house, bringing water from a sculptural group at the Tea House past a series of sprayers to terminate at the Linden Allee at the west. The marble has cracked and fractured over the century since its installation. While the Curator wishes to retain the weathered, historic appearance, the cracking had reached a point where the canal was no longer water-tight.

We were engaged to assess the conditions, make conservation recommendations, and implement treatment. Working with the Curator’s aims, we developed a plan to fill the cracks with a pozzalanic lime based grout. The sprayer walls were then lined with a modified cementitious pool facing material to minimize water loss with minimal impact on the aged appearance. The cracks in the sculpture were also filled with grout following cleaning.

This work was performed in 2015, and we continue to work with the client to develop a long-term plan for restoring the canal.