“As a preservationist, I felt that to lose this building would be a huge loss of cast-iron architecture for Brooklyn,” Kate Allen, the restoration company’s president, said of the Wheeler Building. “Cast-iron buildings in Brooklyn don’t get the same attention as they do in Manhattan.”

The façade of 422 Fulton Street was comprised of around 1,000 individual castings with over 30 variations in design elements. Allen photographed, catalogued, and dismantled the façade prior to the demolition of the accompanying historic structure. A contemporary building was constructed in its place. Our team was tasked with the restoration of existing iron, replication of missing components, and reinstallation of the façade, which would then be tied into a modern weather wall.  The cast iron façade, which once served as a structural component of the historic building was to be converted into a new curtain wall system. This allowed the owner to maintain the historic aesthetics of the façade while incorporating modern function into the building itself.

The delegated engineering design for this was complex. Allen collaborated with Norfast Engineering to facilitate these challenging design requirements. Restoration of the historic iron commenced in our shop concurrently with Engineering analysis. The original material was stripped of lead paint, surveyed for damage, and restored accordingly. Patterns and subsequent castings were produced to replicate missing components and were utilized for dutchman repairs. Our team maintains a preservation philosophy of maintaining as much historic material when at all possible. In sync with that, we provided dutchman type repairs where possible in lieu of new replicated material.

85% of the façade consists of historically appropriate metal. Per the owner’s request, Allen conducted a value engineering analysis and provided an economical solution of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) for the upper-level Dormers. Allen engaged Winco to furnish new windows, which were installed by our team.

Though challenging, our team was able to provide the owner with a development-friendly solution to historic preservation and played a major role in the restoration of the iconic Abraham Strauss façade.