Symposium on building conservation

Castle Clinton
Building Conservation Symposium
Federal Hall National Memorial
26 Wall Street, New York City (2/3 or 4/5 train to Wall Street)
Tuesday, November 17th
4:00 - 9:00 pm

On Tuesday, November 17th the National Park Service (NPS) and
Conservancy for Historic Battery Park will hold a symposium
presenting the findings of a recently completed conservation study
of Castle Clinton National Monument.  NPS personnel and the project
consultants will present their findings and discuss the methodology
used in the investigation. Topics to be covered include:

    *   an overview of Castle Clinton's history and construction,

    *   the use of Infrared-Thermography as a non-destructive
        technique to assess wall interstice condition and locate
        areas of rising damp and stone deterioration,

    *   masonry conditions including the wide variety of salts
        present,

    *   temperature and moisture monitoring within the wall, and

    *   the behavior of load-bearing structures over time.

Panelists:

    David L. Bittermann
    Project Manager, Historical Architect, NPS, Northeast Cultural
    Resources Center

    Judith M. Jacob
    Senior Architectural Conservator, NPS, Northeast Cultural
    Resources Center

    Donald Friedman
    President, Friedman Structural Engineering, PC

    Derek Trelstad
    Project Manager, Friedman Structural Engineering, PC

    Lorraine Schnabel
    Architectural Conservator, John Milner Associates, Inc.

    Warrie Price
    President, Conservancy for Historic Battery Park

Castle Clinton is located in historic Battery Park on New York
Harbor at the southern tip of Manhattan.  Built between 1807 and
1811, it is a single-tiered, open-casemated masonry structure of
Newark sandstone, nearly circular in plan with a diameter of about
200 feet.  Following substantial demolition in the 1940's the site
was restored to its fortification appearance in a series of projects
by the NPS.

The Castle's design, the poor durability of the sandstone used in
its construction, its marine environment, and the numerous
alterations it has endured have lead to structural and material
deterioration.  The baseline conditions existing at the site needed
to be assessed before further conservation could take place and a
plan to reconstruct a roof over the Castle could be further
developed.

This study, undertaken to collect information and material analysis
necessary for future preservation efforts, was conducted by NPS
personnel assisted by leading consultants, and funded through the
Conservancy for Historic Battery Park with major grants from the
Getty Grant Program and the American Express Foundation.  This
symposium is partially funded by a grant from the National Trust for
Historic Preservation.

Please RSVP to Tad Johnson at 212-835-2750 or
<tjohnson [at] downtownNY__com> by November 13th. To reserve a dinner,
please send check for $10 to the Conservancy by November 10th.

    Conservancy for Historic Battery Park
    120 Broadway, Suite 3340
    New York City 10271

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:41
                 Distributed: Tuesday, November 3, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-41-009
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