Contact: Darryl Geddes
Office: (607) 255-9735
E-Mail: djg9@cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's skyline will boast another tower when Olive Tjaden Hall, located on Cornell's Arts Quad, has its steeple restored as part of the building's $7.5 million renovation project.
The 30-foot, 20-ton steeple currently is being built on the ground adjacent to Tjaden Hall. Its steel skeleton has been covered with plywood and workers are now laying slate shingles on the structure's roof.
A crane will lift the completed steeple into place on the southwest corner of Tjaden Hall during the week of Sept. 22. An exact date has not yet been determined.
Using archival photos, architects are recreating the gray and red shingle pattern of the steeple that stood atop Tjaden Hall in the 1890s. The original steeple was damaged during a storm in the 1950s.
Other than work on gallery space, this renovation project marks the first time that major repairs were made to the building since it was completed in 1892. The interior is being gutted to update faculty and student studio and teaching space. The building is expected to be ready for classes in January 1998.
Formerly Franklin Hall, Tjaden Hall was renamed in 1983 for Olive G. Tjaden Van Sickle '25, who for many years was the only woman member of the American Institute of Architects and was at one time considered the most prominent woman architect in the Northeast. Tjaden Hall is home to the College of Architecture, Art and Planning's fine arts programs.
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EDITORS: you are welcome to photograph or film the project. Best focal point is from the driveway between Tjaden Hall and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. If you are interested in obtaining commentary on the construction project, please contact Darryl Geddes at the Cornell News Service.