AMTRAK
Pennsylvania Station,
Baltimore, Maryland
Interior Rehabilitation & Window Restoration Projects
The station was built initially in 1901 and the interior ceilings and original wood windows had fallen into disrepair. The contract involved removing the existing concealed spline ceilings that had been added in the 1950's and replace them with new ceiling grid and tile. Included was the installation of custom mouldings and tin decorative trims to replicate the original plaster mouldings in the station as well as restoration of the remaining plaster cornice mouldings that had suffered the ravages of many years of water damage.
The second phase of the project involved repairing the grand original wood windows to make them operable once again and to remove the damage caused by years of neglect. The scaffolding system, while elaborate in its own way, required the design of an extensive grounding system to prevent risk of contacting the electric catenary cables below the concourse. These cables remained energized during the entire project.
During the restoration work, the windows were found to be in such disrepair that replacement with exact replicas of each sash was determined to be the most cost effective way to complete the restoration. Copies of each individual sash were carefully fabricated using mahogany. Broken glass was replaced with new bent glass, fabricated to the exact radius of the original. Once all of the work was completed and painted to the original colors, custom fabricated storm windows, which were custom painted and fabricated for each window, were installed.
During the restoration, the exterior glazed terra-cotta block walls were found to be a source of water infiltration. JS Cornell was asked to perform repointing and repairs to the exterior masonry, even through one of the harshest winters that Baltimore has seen in years. |
