 A gracious mid-19th century townhouse was renovated to provide a family of four with a respite from their fast paced lives in a serene setting that provides for private time both indoors and out. The interiors of the unassuming red brick and brownstone five-story house were completely renovated, with the exception of the historic parlor, to create generous, unencumbered spaces with ample built in storage. The restoration of the historic parlor on the home`s piano nobile requiring re-casting most of room`s original architectural plaster details. Walls coated with an iridescent silver finish, mahogany floors stained deep brown, and contemporary furnishings serve to showcase the historic features. Renovated parlor floor spaces include an open sitting area and eat in kitchen; a sliding linen panel closes off the kitchen when desired. A continuous storage wall spans the length of both areas, cleverly hiding the young family`s clutter. The kitchen`s custom cabinetry, in high-gloss tonal grey lacquer, provides a place for everything, and niches for art. A full width steel and glass wall opens from the kitchen to an upper terrace with a glass panel floor, which filters natural light down to the floor below. The ground-floor playroom is paneled with wall storage systems and also features a large steel and glass wall, which opens up to the backyard where an outdoor kitchen is sheltered by the upper terrace; continuous bluestone flooring unifies the back yard and the playroom. Upper floors are devoted to private living spaces, including a master bedroom suite and adjacent double height media room with a wet bar illuminated by a skylight and a clerestory windows that join to the study above, which opens to a terrace. In the master bedroom, a custom storage wall at the end of the bed holds a niche for a signature painting. In the nearly pure white master bath, glossy back-painted glass walls play off the striking stark white Thassos honed marble floor. The subtle tonality of the project serves to highlight the art collection of the owners. Pops of color are introduced in furnishings throughout. 

Greenwich Village Townhouse

MBB designed the expansion of an existing building for Grace Church School in New York City, adding a new top floor structure for a double-height gymnasium and athletic center. The highly flexible, 14,000-square-foot addition provides a variety of spaces for different physical activities and academic uses, thoughtfully integrated within the school`s existing footprint. The addition sits on floating acoustic slabs to eliminate noise transmission to classrooms and other academic spaces below. The design solution creates a warm and inviting interior environment filled with natural light from an array of long skylights and large windows. The new arched-roof steel roof encloses multipurpose, open areas to accommodate courts for team sports as well as all-school gatherings and events. The expansion also adds new offices, locker rooms and storage areas, and a new fitness center, all serving diverse programmatic needs. The new facility`s material palette of glass, wood, and steel structural elements complements Grace Church School`s original building and interiors. 

Grace Church High School Athletic Center

The Latse Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Library is a center for modern Tibetan studies, rare book archives, and cultural gathering place for the Tibetan community. Located in an adapted 1930s garage building, the elegant 8500 square foot library houses 12,000 volumes of Tibetan, Western, and Chinese books, and accommodates a variety of programs, including a Tibetan film series, lectures, and receptions for scholars and notable visitors. Using a contemporary vocabulary, the design fuses the vibrant materiality and abstract qualities of traditional Tibetan architecture with the programmatic complexity of an advanced research library, including a rare book room, audiovisual workroom, offices, and conference room. The design captures the interplay of abstract light, rich materials and vivid color characteristic of indigenous Tibetan buildings. High louvered clerestories filter daylight into the centralized reception area, mimicking the filtered light prevalent in Tibetan monasteries. A wall of glass shelving holds historic Tibetan books wrapped in crimson and saffron-colored cloths. Slatted cherry wood walls, naturally finished steel doors, glass display cases, muted ceiling color and a dark floor combine to create an intense interior palette. Marking a formal connection to the second floor reading room is a two story high banner embroidered with auspicious Tibetan signs. The transition from the intimate reception area to the eighteen foot high, second floor reading room provides a dramatic contrast in space and light. A canted, soaring wall of glass on the north side of the room draws extraordinary natural light and the building`s dense urban context into the lofty space, which is connected to a south facing terrace. Latse Library provides an elegant and familiar environment for Tibetans, and conveys a nuanced appreciation of this extraordinary culture to non-Tibetans. 

Trace Foundation

Latse Tibetan Library

 St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of the archdiocese of New York. Built in the neo-Gothic-style, the first cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1858. When the Civil War broke out, construction was halted and the church was not finished until 1878. A multi-year restoration is nearly completed which includes repair to the stone on the facades and interior as well as the rose window. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Jeffrey Murphy of Murphy Burnham &amp; Buttrick Architects discusses the conservation and renovation of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The project has been ongoing for the past nine years, and the architects have involved over 21 consultants, the clergy, and the cardinal. The multifaceted restoration included replacing stone, plaster, stained glass, as well as expanding the footprint, replacing building systems, and digging wells for a geothermal system.

Historian James Kaplan explains the central role of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York-Irish life and its place in the fight against anti-Catholic prejudice.

The land was originally purchased in 1696. The first Trinity Church building, a modest rectangular structure with a gambrel roof and small porch. According to historical records, Captain William Kidd lent the runner and tackle from his ship for hoisting the stones. President Washington and members of his government often worshiped there.

The church was destroyed in the Great New York City Fire of 1776, which started in the Fighting Cocks Tavern, destroying between 400 and 500 buildings and houses, and leaving thousands of New Yorkers homeless.

Construction on the second Trinity Church building began in 1788; it was consecrated in 1790. St. Paul's Chapel was used while the second Trinity Church was being built.The second Trinity Church was built facing Wall Street; it was 200 feet tall, and longer and wider than its predecessor. Building a bigger church was beneficial because the population of New York City was expanding.&nbsp;

The church was torn down after being weakened by severe snows during the winter of 1838–39.

The third and current Trinity Church began construction in 1839 and was finished in 1846. The Gothic Revival brownstone church's Neo-Gothic spire, surmounted by a gilded cross, dominated the skyline of lower Manhattan. Trinity was a welcoming beacon for ships sailing into New York Harbor.Trinity Church held the title of tallest building in the United States until 1869, when it was surpassed by St. Michael's Church, Old Town, Chicago. Trinity continued to be the tallest in New York City, with its 281-foot (86 m) spire and cross, until it was surpassed in 1890 by the New York World Building.The tower of Trinity Church currently contains 23 bells, the heaviest of which weighs 27 U.S. hundredweight (1,225 kilograms [2,701 lb]).Trinity Church has three sets of impressive bronze doors, donated by William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor in memory of his father, John Jacob Astor III. Conceived by Richard Morris Hunt, they date from 1893 and were produced by Karl Bitter (east door), J. Massey Rhind (south door), and Charles Henry Niehaus (north door). The north and east doors each consists of six panels from Church history or the Bible, and the south door depicts the history of New York in its six panels.

When the Episcopal Bishop of New York consecrated Trinity Church on Ascension Day (May 1) 1846, its soaring Gothic Revival spire, surmounted by a gilded cross, dominated the skyline of lower Manhattan. Trinity was a welcoming beacon for ships sailing into New York Harbor. Both Grace and Trinity Churches were completed and consecrated in 1846.

In 1876–1877, a reredos and altar were erected in memory of William Backhouse Astor, Sr., to the designs of architect Frederick Clarke Withers.

Trinity Church is undertaking an extensive restoration and renovation that encompasses the church interiors and the surrounding terraces and grounds. The central nave and chapel interiors will receive a full restoration, and the chancel will also be renovated to accommodate ADA accessibility and enhance the worship experience. The historic stained glass windows in the nave and chancel—widely considered some of the finest examples of early American stained glass in the nation—will receive a full, off-site studio conservation. Non-historic back-of-house spaces including the vestry, sacristy, clergy staff, and choir practice rooms will be extensively renovated to meet the church’s current and projected needs. The exterior terraces will be modified to provide clearer circulation, well-defined outdoor spaces for both gathering and quiet contemplation, and comprehensive ADA accessibility. A new glass canopy, with steel supports conceived as a modern interpretation of gothic structural practice, will be introduced at the south terrace, facilitating church processions under cover from inclement weather.

The cemetery is also notable as the final resting place for ship builder Robert Fulton and Alexander Hamilton.The third Trinity Church on its site still stands today at the head of Wall Street. The neo-gothic landmark was the highest point on New York's skyline until the completion of the World Building in 1890. <a href="https://culturenow.org/people/the-skyscraper-museum?name=The_Skyscraper_Museum">[1]</a>&nbsp;

Ezekiel Porter Belden, New York, Past, Present, and Future, pg. ix. Putnam, 1849.

A panoramic view of New York in the wake of the fire which virtually destroyed the city (20-21 September 1776). New York, a watercolour by Robert Raymond RN (Warrant Officer). Taken from the Maritime Journal of Warrant Officer Robert Raymond RN (1767-1783). commencing, 13 May 1767.” Folio, 320 pp., 377 x 245 mm., bound in contemporary half vellum and pasteboards.&nbsp;

Printmakers - Asher B. Durand, Henry Bryan Hall, Albert Rosenthal and Max Rosenthal.&nbsp;Draughtsmen -David McNeely Stauffer.

Trinity Church and Graveyard

With gravestones dating to 1704, the cemetery at St. Paul's Church National Historic Site is one of the oldest, continuously used burial yards in the nation.

Initially opened as an outreach chapel of Trinity Church to better serve its expanding congregation. A decade later, the Great Fire of 1776 destroyed the first Trinity Church, but St. Paul’s survived, thanks to a bucket brigade dousing the building with water.Until the second Trinity Church was rebuilt in 1790, many, including George Washington, made St. Paul’s their church home.Over the next two centuries, the ministries of St. Paul’s expanded along with the city. Community outreach was a primary focus, with services to accommodate the needs of immigrants, working women, and the homeless.

Rather than restore the landscapes to a specific period in time, the church leadership agreed that these sacred spaces must reflect the evolution of time and its significance to the community. The designs restore unobstructed views of the gravestones while protecting the base of mature trees from foot traffic. Low-scale circular beds around major trees form subtle landscape accents within the lines of gravestones. Additional improvements include soil amendments and new turf, replacement of damaged brownstone pavement, installation of bluestone check dams and runnels to solve erosion and compaction problems, and the removal of post-9/11 signage remnants. Extensive landscaping, steeple repair, the installation of air conditioning, and the installation of a production room to facilitate webcasting.

Saint Paul's Chapel is the oldest church in Manhattan and is thought to be the oldest building in Manhattan. It is also the tallest public building in continuous use and the only remaining colonial church. Inside can be found the first rendition in oil paint of the Great Seal of the United States. It is one of the nation's finest examples of Late Georgian church architecture. Its worshippers included George Washington.

At the fa&amp;ccedil;ade, rusticated blocks of Manhattan schist and smooth sandstone accents were restored, repaired, or patched.&amp;nbsp;  

On the Broadway side of the chapel's exterior is an oak statue of the church's namesake,&amp;nbsp;Saint Paul, carved by an unknown sculptor and installed in 1790.  

Because the monument honoring General Montgomery created a shadowy outline in the altar window as seen from the nave, a design for the interior of the window was made by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the French architect who created the master plan for the city of Washington, DC. The design, executed by a woodcarver, represents God’s glory on Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, from Exodus 24.

The origins of the St. Paul's cemetery were determined by the background and customs of the residents of the Town of Eastchester, which was founded by English settlers in the 1660's. Burials began around 1700 in the northwestern corner of the site, shortly after the completion of the town's first church, following the English tradition of the churchyard as burial ground. Before that, interment had usually occurred on family property. In a small, locally oriented town, grave markers were simple fieldstone, drawn from the fields of Westchester County. The population was small enough that initials were sufficient to identify the deceased and greater emphasis was given to recording the date of death, at a time when there were no death certificates. To chisel the simple inscriptions, the family hired the local blacksmith, who was skilled in the use of hand tools, but certainly not a professional carver, which was an additional reason for the minimal characters on a stone. Markers were austere and lacked imagery, because Eastchester's residents, raised in the Puritan tradition, feared that spiritual depictions would lead to idolatry, the worship of physical objects as gods.

The earliest symbolism on gravestones at St. Paul's dates to the 1750's and takes two general forms. One is the heart, generally understood to have symbolized God's love, and the other is a star-like design or pinwheel, which probably represented heaven, or all things under heaven. These emblems were the first steps away from Puritan beliefs that prohibited any form of religious iconography.Both of these designs also appeared on 18th century furniture, clothing and everyday objects such as footwarmers, where they had an artistic as well as a symbolic function. The stones on which these designs appeared usually consisted of low-grade marble, worked into tripartite shapes. The designs appeared either in tympanum -- the arched middle section -- or on the side finials.

"As a feeble tribute to the value of all that could be lost in the Wife, the Mother, and the Friend. This stone is reared in memory of Elizabeth the spouse of Samuel L. Borrowe, who departed this sorrowing Life in the comfortable hope of a better on the 29th September 1812 aged 36 years.Restored 1930"

 "Opened in 1766, St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use - a place where George Washington worshiped and 9/11 recovery workers received round the clock care. Part of the Episcopal Parish of Trinity Church, St. Paul's is a center for worship and the arts, a community of reconciliation, and a place of pilgrimage for all people."   CultureNOW

St. Paul's Chapel&nbsp;has been designated a Registered National Historic LandmarkUnder the provisions of the historic sites as of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States.&nbsp;US Department of the Interior National Park Service1962

Landmarks of New YorkSt. Paul's ChapelThis famous example of Georgian Architecture built 1764-1766, with spire and portico added 1794-1796, is the only church structure surviving the colonial era of New York City, the design by Thomas McBean closely followed that of St. Martin in the fields by James Gibbs, President Washington was a regular attendant following his inauguration in 1789 when New York was the National Capital.Places erected 1957 byThe New York Community Trust

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects

Stephen Rochefontaine (February 20, 1755 &amp;ndash; January 30, 1814 ) was a French-born military engineer who served as such in the Continental Army, during the American Revolutionary War, and later as the very first Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He was born &amp;Eacute;tienne Nicolas Marie B&amp;eacute;chet, Sieur de Rochefontaine in Marny, France.  

St. Paul's Chapel

St. Paul's Chapel and Churchyard (Trinity)

On the seventh stop of the tour, Kaplan discusses the history and significance of St. Paul's Church, the oldest private building in NYC, from Benedict Arnold to 9/11.

Founded in NYC in 1998, Murphy Burnham &amp; Buttrick is noted for its renovations and institutional work.&nbsp;

Murphy, Burnham & Buttrick Architects

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