Welch Hall Exterior Bronze Study

Rockefeller University, New York, NY

Welch Hall was constructed on the Rockefeller University campus in 1929. It houses the library and meeting rooms for the school within an elegantly finished limestone Beaux Arts building. A series of bronze grilles and an elegant bronze railing grace the northeastern corner of the building exterior.

As part of the development of plans to restore the building, we were engaged to study the condition of the bronzes, prepare mock-ups and provide recommendations for their treatment. Each was documented photographically and surface and structural deterioration was documented. Tests were performed for cleaning, patination and coating methods. Means of restoring the conditions were proposed and a series of possible treatments mock-ups was preformed on-site. A report detailing the findings and proposed treatments was prepared and submitted to the client for inclusion in the overall building restoration project.