The major exterior restoration of the New York Public Library’s flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue was undertaken from 2008 to February 2011 in preparation for the 1911 building’s centennial celebration. According to a press release on the Library’s website, “some of the architectural detailing, including the keystone lion heads that repeat along the facade, would require ‘Dutchman’ repairs in which a new piece of marble, carved to match the original, is secured into surrounding stone.”

Granite Incorporated was selected to re-create many of the marble balusters for all the main floor window balconies along the historic marble facade. The replacement balusters were carved from Mountain White Danby marble, carefully chosen to closely match those originals which were able to be repaired and cleaned in place. Today, it is very difficult to distinguish the new balusters from the old.

Photography by: Sean-Andrew Zeus Pyle