Excellence Award Spotlight: Fire Watchtower at Marcus Garvey Park
The Fire Watchtower at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem is one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners. This post is part of an in depth series exploring all of the 2020 Award winners.
This wide-shot photograph shows the Fire Watchtower in context with the park plaza in the foreground. Credit: Alexander Severin
The Fire Watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park has been a symbol of Harlem since 1856. In the 1800s, it was one of a series of cast iron towers built throughout New York City, but it is the only one of its kind remaining in New York. The watchtower provided a perch atop Mount Morris for firefighters to keep watch over the community and alert the local fire company if a fire broke. The tower was decommissioned in the 1870s when pull boxes rendered watchtowers obsolete. While the other watchtowers throughout the city were torn down, the Harlem community rallied to protect this one — and that community has continued to advocate on behalf of this special structure ever since.
A crowd gathered in Marcus Garvey Park for the ribbon cutting of the newly restore Fire Watchtower. A group of people cut the ribbon while a crowd watched on a takes photos. Credit: Thornton Tomasetti
This was such an exciting project for many reasons, but two are particularly worth noting. First, the unusual nature of this building type – it is one of America’s oldest surviving cast iron framed structures. As it says in the National Register of Historic Places nomination, “the significance of the Watchtower in Mount Morris Park lies in its role as an historic engineering and technological landmark.”
Team members pose with the historic bell after returning to the States following its restoration in the Netherlands. Credit: The Verdin Company
Secondly, the fervent support from the community, which has kept this watchtower from ruin and demolition since the 1870s. The cooperation between the community organizations that advocated on behalf of this beloved structure and the city officials who ultimately decided to fund the project is a wonderful example of a successful public-private partnership.
As a rare surviving example of early American cast iron frame construction, there were many unique challenges to this restoration. One of the most interesting was the fact that the 5,000-pound bell, dating from 1865, had to be shipped to the Netherlands for restoration. Its age and its size made its restoration particularly challenging. The Verdin Company in Cincinnati was contracted to do repairs, but the extent of the repairs were too great for their foundry to accomplish. It was sent by barge the Netherlands, but flown back to get its final polishing in time for opening day. As our Award Chair Charlotte Worthy discovered in conversation with Thornton Tomasetti Vice President Charles Van Winckle, the bell is not just a focal point for spectators – it’s a working bell and it belongs to the community. When the tower is open to visitors, park rangers will accommodate those who want a chance to ring their bell.
The team at Thornton Tomasetti who led this project did a wonderful job preserving the watchtower’s historic character while making modern adjustments that will keep it standing tall for years to come. Fire fighters no longer sit perched at the top, but the tower itself still watches over its community – a symbol of Harlem and a testament to the power of community activism in saving historic sites.
The Fire Watchtower project team included:
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation | Client/Owner – Mitchell Silver, FAICP, Commissioner, Therese Braddick, Deputy Commissioner Capital Projects, Sybil Young, Historic Preservation Officer, Julie Fisher, RA, LEED AP, Architect III, Tiffany Wang, RA, Senior Construction Project Manager, Paul Schubert, Deputy Director, John Krawchuk, RLA, Executive Director of the Historic House Trust, Michelle Langlie, Preservation Project Manager, George Vellonakis, Washington Square Park Administrator; Thornton Tomasetti | Historic Preservation, Structural Engineering – Robert J.Kornfeld, Jr., AIA, Architect of Record, Charles Van Winckle, Vice President, Sorin Moisi, Engineer of Record, Vince Aleo, PE, Vice President, Kui He, PE, Senior Project Director; Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers | Geotechnical Engineers – Walter Kaeck, PE, Principal, Michael McMaster, PE, Project Manager; Nicholson and Galloway | Restoration Services, Andrew Wilson, President, Van Helmsley, Project Manager; Allen Architectural Metals | Casting and Metal Fabrication – John Allen, CEO, President, Chris Lacey, Director; Northeast Structural Steel | Erector; BAMA Foundry | Foundry; Lucius Pitkin, Inc. | Non-destructive Testing; Verdin Bell | Bell Restoration; Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association | Fundraising and Community Engagement; Angel Ayón, AIA, LEED AP, Preservation Advocate, AYON Studio | Advocacy; New York Landmarks Conservancy | Advocacy