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Central Park Conservancy, Bethesda Terrace Arcade / cast iron ceiling component decorative treatment and arcade lighting
WHEREAS, The application is for a lighting plan and the decorative painting of cast iron ceiling components; and
WHEREAS, The restoration of the historic Minton tile ceiling in the Bethesda Terrace Arcade is underway, and the Conservancy's restoration proposal as initially approved did not address the lighting of the ceiling or the decorative painting of its ornamental cast iron suspension framework; and
WHEREAS, At that time, the applicant proposed to design both the ceiling lighting and decorative painting in the context of restored panels that would allow them to prepare mock-ups, and the Conservancy has since developed the design of these elements accordingly; and
WHEREAS, No provision for artificial light was made in the original design of the Arcade, and the only integral lighting element in Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould's design was a skylight of colored glass, and the architects intended that the Arcade's floor and ceiling, both of which were originally encaustic tile (the current floor dates to 1912), would serve to brighten the space by reflecting indirect natural light; and
WHEREAS, Artificial lighting has been introduced to the Arcade in conjunction with the programmed use of the space at various periods in its history, and large pendant globe fixtures, suspended from the intersections of the ceiling's ornamental cast iron suspension grid, were installed as part of the restoration work of the 1980's; and
WHEREAS, The objectives of the lighting design for the Arcade are to light the Arcade by enabling the highly reflective surface of the restored Minton tile ceiling to illuminate the space as intended and respect the historic architectural and decorative fabric of the Arcade by adopting a minimalist approach to the fixture itself, and avoiding schemes that would require fixtures to be surface-mounted to the sandstone which contributed to its deterioration in the past; and
WHEREAS, The proposed design to achieve these objectives consists of:
- Installing a series of small halogen up-lights suspended from the cast iron ceiling
- Frame work at regular intervals, generally two fixtures per cast iron rib segment at each side of the tile panels
- Each fixture would measure approximately 5x2 in. x 7.5 in. with a curved underside and lens
- The fixtures would be suspended below and parallel to the cast iron ribs, directly beneath two of the twelve" holly leaf" elements that run down the center of each rib segment
- The fixtures would be suspended 24 in. below the ceiling at a height of fourteen feet above the floor
- The proposed finish for the fixtures and suspension is an anodized metallic finish in a neutral warm-gray, antique-bronze color
- No fixtures are to be suspended from the cast iron segments down the center of the ceiling or along the Arcade walls; and
WHEREAS, In absence of clear information about the color scheme, the design team established that the original cast iron treatment most likely included gold, and implemented a color scheme consisting of an artificial gold finish and tnemic paint in a single-color, and based on this analysis of relevant theory and utilizing a precedent design approach to the decorative painting of the cast iron ceiling components, gold will be used on the areas of highest relief , blue will serve as the mediating color, and red-brown will be used on receding areas; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five was impressed with the effort put forth by the Conservancy to restore the Bethesda terrace arcade ceiling to its original splendor; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the application to paint the cast iron parts of the ceiling and install new lighting of the historic Minton tile ceiling in the Bethesda Terrace Arcade.
The above resolution passed with a vote of 29 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention.