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Louis Sullivan designed the small first-floor footprint of the 1915 The Old Home Bank with an uplifting Banking Hall and an elegant, intimately proportioned Consultation Room. With function ever in his mind, in order to accommodate the vault, safety deposit boxes, lounges, restrooms, storage, and mechanical spaces, Sullivan designed the larger footprint Lower Level to extend out under the sidewalks of this corner lot building.
During the first phase of this restoration project, the portions of the Lower Level which extend under the sidewalks were rebuilt in coordination with the City of Newark’s utility and streetscape project. Even though RKA and the Design Team were still early in the design process for the overall project, the aggressive schedule for the City streetscape/sidewalk project necessitated a quick completion for the design and details for the new watertight, multi-layered system consisting of a new structural deck supported by new steel beams, insulation, waterproofing, drainage, and concrete pavement over the portions of the Lower Level that extended under the city sidewalk. RKA led this effort in coordinating with the City and their project team, and the fast-track project was successfully completed to coincide with the City's schedule for completing the new sidewalk.
With the goal of restoring the exterior of The Sullivan Building to its original 1915 appearance, RKA assembled a team of highly skilled consultants including Wiss Janney Elstner (terra cotta specialist), Conrad Schmitt Studio (mosaic, leaded glass, and mural restoration specialist), SMBH (structural engineer), and Karpinski Engineering (MEP engineer). Danis Construction was hired as the Construction Manager, and the exterior restoration of The Sullivan Building began.
The restoration of the building’s exterior included a new roof, new skylight, new flashings, and coping repairs. The team consulted copies of Sullivan’s original construction drawings to design the faithful reconstruction of the original main entrance that had been insensitively reconfigured into a diagonal corner entrance by a previous jewelry store tenant. The existing terra cotta and associated mortar joints were cleaned, repaired, and repointed while badly damaged or missing terra cotta was selectively replaced with new, subtly distinct terra cotta that was carefully harmonized with the coloration of the original terra cotta.
The intricate mosaics on the south and east elevations were cleaned and repaired, and missing glass mosaic tiles were re-created and installed. The leaded glass casement windows and opalescent glass awning windows were re-leaded and the broken or missing glass was replaced with new glass matching the historical glass. The showcase windows that had been retrofitted to the larger openings of the original, clear glass windows in the banking hall and consultation room were removed and replaced with new clear glass windows corresponding to the original window opening sizes. New reproductions of the original exterior doors and skylight were fabricated and installed. After restoring The Sullivan Building exterior to the vision of its pre-eminent architect, new, freestanding, architectural lighting was installed to illuminate this national treasure.
Read more about The Sullivan Building History and Restoration Study.
Read more about The Sullivan Building Interior Restoration and Annex.
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