Stern Auditorium Ceiling

Carnegie Hall is comprised of three buildings constructed between 1889 and 1891. They were constructed as a joint venue for the Oratorio Society of New York and the New York Symphony Society. While it was first known as the “Music Hall,” the complex was renamed in 1898 to honor their principal investor, steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The original building houses what is now known as Isaac Stern Auditorium, which is the largest performance space in the Carnegie Hall complex. It was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by New York architect William Tuthill and built to house 3,300 guests, including two tiers of boxes, two balconies, and floor seating for 1,200. The hall hosted the New York Philharmonic from 1892 to 1962, when they moved to Lincoln Center.

The transforming music industry of the 1950s and the move to Lincoln Center by the New York Philharmonic culminated in efforts to preserve Carnegie Hall from demolition. The City of New York purchased the building in 1960, leasing it to the newly founded Carnegie Hall Corporation, a non-profit formed to run and, eventually, purchase the venue. Carnegie Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and made a New York City Landmark in 1967.

EverGreene was retained by AECOM and Carnegie Hall to perform plaster repairs to the ceiling of Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. The purpose of the work was to perform stabilizing repairs to the rear of the ceiling to address public safety concerns. In select locations EverGreene plasterers added new plaster wads to the historic system, as well as installed new metal supports and ties, which were further supported by plaster wads.