For architecture enthusiasts, a visit to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue) on New York City’s Upper East Side is already a treat, as it’s located in the former mansion of Andrew Carnegie. The New York City (and national) landmark is also the first and only museum in America dedicated to design, featuring over 200,000 objects, covering 30 centuries of innovation.
Last we spoke about Cooper Hewitt, we highlighted an episode of Treasures of New York on WNET/THIRTEEN, which focused on the museum’s reopening in December 2014 following a 3-year, $91 million renovation.
That was quite a while back, but we were recently given a look at the newly completed restoration of the Carnegie Mansion canopy, considered to be the structure’s “crown jewel.” Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the stunning fixture is quite the treasure, hidden in plain sight. We’re told that it’s original to the 1902 Gilded Age Georgian Revival style building, which was designed by Babb, Cook & Willard and built from 1899 to 1902.
The process to restore the canopy was an arduous one. According to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, each glass piece had to be cleaned and re-leaded. Additionally, water damage and prior remedies — which included the used of fastener holes and sealants detrimental to the bronze — were corrected. During this procedure, it was discovered that all the glass was original. You can see photos of the restored canopy below:
Image via the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Image via the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Image via the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Image via the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
For more on the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, make sure to check out Treasures of New York: Cooper Hewitt, which provides an intimate look at the collective efforts of architects, designers, technologists and others to achieve the modernization and expansion of the museum.
Next, check out Step Inside NYC’s Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New Video.
