Details: Designed by Frederick Peterson, this Italianate 1859 building is New York City’s largest brownstone structure. To celebrate it’s 140th year, The Cooper Union implemented a master plan for a complete exterior restoration and awarded the project to Nicholson & Galloway as General Contractor.

The building showed typical brownstone failures, including severe weathering and exfoliation of bedding plains. Nicholson & Galloway hand tooled over 24,000 square feet of failing brownstone. This two-step tooling process consisted of honing back unsound brownstone (using wet-grinding diamond wheels) to an acceptable sound surface. The honed surface was then hand tooled with pneumatic chisels to achieve a finely textured surface. Along with this major tooling program over 3000 cubic feet of deteriorated brownstone was replaced with new material produced from the same Connecticut quarry that supplied the original stone.

Other work performed by Nicholson & Galloway’s own personnel included: installing 220 pieces of cast stone elements, replacing 11,000 square feet of stucco, replacing over 1,000 linear feet of ornamental copper cornices and stainless steel armature, and restoration of 4,300 square feet of cast-iron storefront. Replacement of 370 mahogany historic wood windows and clock restoration was performed by subcontractors under the direction of Nicholson & Galloway.

This award-winning ten-million dollar facade restoration was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.