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205 East 42nd Street, a twenty one story commercial office structure owned by the Durst Organization.. It had lost its luster because of time, and the advancement of technology which had slowly taken a toll on the Building's systems. Located within the many other prestigious East Side Landmarks, such as the Chrysler Building, New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations, the Building was built circa 1929. |
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The original lobby extended from the main entrance on 42nd Street thru to 43rd Street. The 43rd Street entrance was utilized as a secondary entrance to the building. It was decided by the Durst Organization to close the 43rd Street entrance, and emphasize 42nd Street as the entrance. To add to the importance of the main entrance, a new bronze canopy within a circular skylight was designed to illuminate the entrance below. Two new bronze revolving doors and an ADA automatic door were designed for the main entrance, around bands of horizontal black and reddish granite. |
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The lobby walls are clad with marble, which has been polished and restored to its original splendor. Doors leading to several retail spaces off the lobby, which had been constructed through the years were removed, and upon extensively investigating the source, matching marble was found to block-up the openings, matching the original design intent of the lobby. At the vertical corners of the marble walls are carved grape leaves, which were restored, creating a subdued elegant border. |
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The longitudinal axis of the lobby is reinforced by a continuous canvas painted splay ceiling border, which was totally restored. Restoration included attaching portions of the canvas back to the plaster surface, washing the canvas to remove years of grime, and repainting with acrylics, the portion of the canvas that had faded and deteriorated. New colors that were mixed for repainting the canvas were selected to be faithful to the original colors, taking into consideration some 50 years of the fading process |
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