St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Our Lady Chapel

St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue is an Episcopal Parish that has been active in New York City since it first broke away from Trinity Church more than 200 years ago. The fourth and final church was constructed between 1911 and 1913 by the architecture firm Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson, and is considered a stunning example of French High Gothic architecture.

Our team was called upon to address the reredos and tabernacle in the Our Lady Chapel. The reredos in the chapel are smaller than the grand reredos of the nave, are made of wood, and feature figures from the Bible and the history of Christianity, including the the Annunciation towards the top, with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, the marriage at Cana, and Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead on the lower portion. EverGreene conservators performed a general survey and testing to determine the gentlest and most effective approach for conservation. Based upon this methodology EverGreene conservators cleaned, stabilized, removed post-historic visually incompatible paint, revitalized the wood finish, and selectively regilded the reredos. Our skilled artisans worked alongside conservators to introduce new decorative stenciling and gilding in select locations on both the tabernacle and reredos.