Photos: The Stunningly Restored Surrogate’s Courthouse Skylight

Above the grandiose marble atrium of the Surrogate’s Courthouse in Lower Manhattan there hangs a 40-foot by 60-foot skylight. Originally a sparklingly portal for natural light to pass through, the skylight had lost its luster over the past several decades due to water damage. This year, a massive renovation and restoration project led by Urbahn Architects, the NYC Department of Design and Construction, and Jablonski Building Conservation brought the skylight back to its stunning original state, with some innovative new features. The restoration earned the team a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy. The project was also selected by a panel of urban experts as a nominee for Best Restoration of 2020 in Untapped New York’s Best of New York Awards 2020, which you can vote for here!

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

The Surrogate’s Courthouse is a Beaux-Arts structure designed by architect John R. Thomas, one of America’s most prolific designers of public buildings. The structure was built to replace the old Hall of Records in City Hall Park and made use of prize-winning plans Thomas had created for a new City Hall. It took eight years of construction to assemble what Thomas’ would consider his masterpiece. Completed in 1907, the new Hall of Records stood seven-stories tall and was topped with a mansard roof, a signature of Thomas’ designs. The steel-framed structure clad in Maine granite was meant to be fire-resistant to keep City records safe. Renamed Surrogate’s Courthouse in 1962, the building still houses municipal records and the Surrogate Court today.

Just one year after the Landmarks Preservation Commission was established in 1965, the Surrogate’s Courthouse was designated as a New York City Landmark. In addition to being an individual landmark, the building’s first floor was designated as an interior landmark as well. The nearby Woolworth Building Lobby, City Hall, and Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank join the courthouse in a select group of New York City interiors with the designation.

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

When you step into the Surrogate’s Courthouse, it’s easy to see why it is deemed worthy of protection. After you walk through the triple-arched entrance, topped by thirty-six-foot high granite Corinthian columns, you enter into a foyer lined with Sienna Marble. Past the foyer, the marble continues into the main atrium where you will find the dazzling skylight arching above a three-story story open space. Many elements of the lobby are said to be inspired by the Paris Opera House, and when the Hall of Records opened, it was called the most Parisian place in New York.

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

While many of the building’s elaborate pieces of ornamentation were crafted in Europe, the Surrogate’s Courthouse skylight was made right here in New York City. The laylight, the lower part of the skylight which is seen from below, is made up of hundreds of translucent glass panels. The panels are set in a barrel-vaulted cast iron frame clad in bronze. Above the laylight is another glass layer which protects the bottom one from the elements. That top layer is gable-shaped and was originally supported by a copper frame structure with a ridge at its peak.

With no original drawings to go off of, the team conducted on-site research and relied on engineering consultant Ysrael A. Seinuk PC for new structural plans. Before work began, Urbahn’s team meticulously surveyed and documented every detail of the skylight from the exterior monitor to the plaster lunettes as its base. From this on-site research, a collaborative plan of action was created. During the renovation, the team removed the entire outer monitor system and replaced it with a new copper-anodized aluminum frame. New copper leaders, gutters, and a ridge vent were created to match the originals, down to the rope motif detail. Inside, Urbahn and JBC removed the glass panels of the laylight in order to restore the leading that held the glass in place. The panes were restored by Bovard Studio. New glass panes were brought in to replace missing or broken ones. The ornamental bronze cladding was stripped of all coatings, cleaned, and refinished to its original shine by EverGreene.

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

Before the renovations, the skylight had been leaking since the 1990s. To make sure no further water damage will be done, the team designed a new protective system for the vulnerable glass block walkways the run along either side of the skylight where water was seeping in. After realizing that the original hexagonal glass blocks could not be salvaged, new ones were made by Gillinder Brothers. The new blocks, made from casts of the originals, still bear an embossed snowflake pattern. New cast-iron frames were created by Wemco Casting. Above the new rows of glass blocks, laminated glass was added for protection. New aluminum panels were used to create a durable walking surface.

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

It took so long to fix the Surrogate’s Courthouse skylight because the building is in constant use. In addition to its municipal duties, the building serves as a venue for public and private events and is frequently used for television and film shoots. To make sure the atrium was watertight during construction, the crew created a temporary roof with steel beams, a metal deck, and a waterproof membrane. This temporary roof was installed above the skylight and then disassembled by a crane when construction was complete.

Photo by Ola Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

The Surrogate’s Courthouse skylight restoration project was chosen by a panel of urban experts as a nominee for Best Restoration of 2020 in Untapped New York’s Best of New York Awards along with the Brownsville War Memorial, The Empire State Building Spire, the Endale Arch, Fountain of the Fairs at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Gage and Tollner Restaurant, The New York Public Library Lions, The Sun Building, The Palm Dome at the New York Botanical Garden, and the Sensory Garden in Pelham Bay Park. You can cast your vote for the Best Restoration of 2020 and more categories here!

Next, check out Behind the Scenes Inside the Division of Old Records Inside the NYC Surrogate Courthouse and Vote for the Best of New York 2020 Awards!