Kent Hall Ceiling—Private

Kent Hall was constructed in 1911 to house Columbia University’s law school. The architectural firm McKim, Mead & White were chosen to design the building as a part of the Columbia University master campus plan. It was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, for which they were well known. The building served as the law school from 1910 to 1960; it now houses the East Asian and Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures and the East Asian Libraries.

In August and September of 2023, EverGreene was retained by SPK Lewis Construction and Columbia University to aid in the salvage, re-casting, and controlled demolition of the decorative plaster ceiling in Kent Hall. The goal of the project was to properly measure and document the ceiling and preserve elements in order to support the client’s future reconstruction. Two of the best representatives of each element were chosen for salvage and storage. Record molds and casts were made of typical elements, including the beam profile. All items were created, labeled, and inventoried for future use and were returned to the client for storage. The remaining plaster ceiling elements were carefully removed without damaging the new sprinkler system or the structural ceiling substrate made of Guastavino tiles.