Oberlin, OH — Rugo Stone in Lorton, Virginia has been named the recipient of the 2020 Grande Pinnacle Award for their work on the Trinity Church Wall Street Altar & Chancel Restoration project in New York City.
Located at the crossing of Wall Street and Broadway, Trinity Church is an historical structure that for 174 years has served New Yorkers as a place of worship. During 9/11 the church served as a shelter from the debris caused by the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower.
Trinity Church needed a variety of upgrades, including complete conservation and restoration of the Gothic Revival chancel and the historic Astor memorial altar.
Rugo Stone was selected to dismantle and conserve the Astor memorial altar based on extensive experience in stone and mosaic conservation and restoration. Their task was to carefully dismantle the marble and the mosaic which formed the altar. The mosaic panels, believed to have been created in the 1870s by acclaimed Italian mosaic artist Antonio Salviati, are considered priceless, as is the Vermont statuary marble altar.
Rugo Stone carefully cataloged the altar by 3D scanning it in place, and then dismantled and transported it to their carving studio. Over the next 6 months, artisans carefully cleaned and restored the damaged pieces, as well as produced new columns, hand-carved capitals, performed dutchman patches, and new gilding, all to create a new configuration for an ADA accessible altar mounted to a new steel frame.
The team also sourced new Caen French limestone to recreate rear wall missing pilasters and base, which was particularly challenging as the original Caen limestone was quarried in the 1860s. The chancel floor was completely re-done using Olympian White Danby and Rosso Levanto marble pavers with 1/32" joints, patterned to create a bold checkerboard appearance. Rugo Stone’s team worked tirelessly to complete all the work for the dedication services scheduled on Christmas 2019.
The full list of 2020 Pinnacle Award recipients is as follows.
Public Landscapes/Parks Memorials
Fundidora Park Mural
Monterrey, Mexico
Creative Edge Master Shop Fairfield, IA
Spring Creek Nature Area
Richardson, TX
Coldspring Cold Spring, MN
Dee Brown Inc. Richardson, TX
Commercial Interior
Hillsdale College Christ Chapel
Hillsdale, MI
Booms Stone Company Redford, MI
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Expansion
Hollywood, FL
Twin Stone Designs & Installations Hollywood, FL
Architectural Carving/Lettering/Sculpture
John F. Kennedy Center, The REACH Donor Wall
Washington, DC
Rugo Stone Lorton, VA
Nike of Samothrace
Samothrace Island, Greece
F.H.L.I. Kiriakidis Marbles-Granites Drama, Greece
Renovation/Restoration
Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Paterson, NJ
Ghirardi Stone Contracting New York, NY
Trinity Church Wall Street Chancel & Altar Restoration
New York, NY
Rugo Stone Lorton, VA
Dallas Municipal Building Restoration
Dallas, TX
Dee Brown Inc. Richardson, TX
Tennessee Marble Company Friendsville, TN
Commercial Exterior
Tenko Omakase Japanese Restaurant
Bangkok, Thailand
Stone and Roses International Samutprakarn, Thailand
The Williams Inn
Williamstown, MA
Connecticut Stone Milford, CT
Residential-Single Family
The Floating Stair
Toronto, ON Canada
PICCO Engineering Concord ON Canada
SoHo Townhouse
New York, NY
ABC Worldwide Stone Brooklyn, NY
Villa Florence
Downey, CA
Carnevale & Lohr, Inc. Bell Gardens, CA
Submissions for the 2021 Pinnacle Awards are being accepted until July 20. Learn more at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/pinnacleawards.
