New York, New York 

7 Gracie Square is a cast stone and brick Art-Deco apartment house built in 1929 in Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood on the Upper East Side.  The building was designed by George Post & Sons.  Its austere principal façade faces north and overlooks Carl Schurz Park.

 The building’s lobby is black and cream toned marble and terrazzo designed around a nautical theme and is said to have been the creation of Canadian muralist Arthur Crisp, who also developed the property.  The main entrance compliments the lobby with a stunning blend of metals and cast decorative work that had become deteriorated over time and was in need of analysis and restoration.

The cooperative board hired Conservation Solutions, Inc. , in 2010 to assess the doorway to 7 Gracie Square.  The purpose of the assessment was to understand the original artistic intent of the entrance and develop a cost estimate and approach for its restoration.  Base metals were characterized as cast iron, sheet brass, cast bronze, and aluminum; original finishes on these base metals were more difficult to determine.  Using a hand-held X-ray fluorescence machine that identifies constituent elements of a  material, CSI confirmed base metals and also identified existing finish remnants and discovered, to their surprise, that the cast iron gazelle panel adorning the door head was plated in cadmium, a rare metal rarely used in decorative work of this type.  Working with a cast iron restoration contractor, CSI developed a full scope of work and approach to restoring original finishes that would return the doorway to its original appearance and full operation.

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