A window into architectural history has been restored while educating the next generation of preservation specialists. You are invited to see it between May 16 and June 2nd at the North Bennet Street School's spacious new Wingate Gallery at 150 North Street in Boston. The monumental arched-top window was extracted a year ago from William Ralph Emerson's Shingle Style icon, the Charles G. Loring House.
included a doorway. Photo by David W. Torrey, AIA.
Now demolished to clear the spectacular North Shore site for the construction of a new home, this 1884 Shingle Style masterpiece was sadly not destined to be restored, but serves instead as an education tool for local students and for the American public. Thanks to the dedication of neighbor Lynne Warren on behalf of the Friends of the Loring House, tangible evidence lives on in several rooms and elements that were removed before the complete demolition of the house in 2015.
NBSS disassembled the window prior to shipping to their shop for restoration. Photo by NBSS
On May 5, 2016, students and faculty of the NBSS Preservation Carpentry program presented one of those extracted artifacts to the public, the "Palladian Window" which will be part of the school's annual Celebration of Craft exhibition. Call for hours or see: http://www.nbss.edu/friendsdonors/2016-annual-celebration-of-craft/index.aspxbefore traveling to Washington D.C to be part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Building Museum. http://www.nbm.org
The museum exhibit at 150 North Street.
Photo by David W. Torrey, AIA.
Lynne Warren's address on 5/5/2016.
Photo by David W. Torrey, AIA.
The Wingate Gallery event on 5/5/2016..
Photo by David W. Torrey, AIA.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Torrey Architecture, Inc is proud to have contributed to this project by managing the masonry and structural aspects of the Loring House salvage operation in coordination with the North Bennet Street School's Preservation Carpentry Program and by documenting in detail the existing conditions of several rooms now in storage to allow for their future reconstruction as museum exhibits.
Photography credits:
Steve Rosenthal, North Bennet Street School, David W. Torrey, AIA. For additional photos and a video of raising the window at the gallery, go to Instagram @NBSS
Torrey Architecture, Inc.
Torrey Architecture provides our clients with complete architectural services, from concept sketches through building occupancy. We assist property owners, commercial tenants and stewards of community facilities in the realization of architectural projects for buildings and sites. We assemble and lead a team of professionals to address the specific technical requirements of the project and guide our clients through the entire design process, from goal clarification through schematic designs, engineering, cost control, construction documents, contractor selection, permitting, construction and building maintenance.
