Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY
Careful restoration of matching historical exterior wall lanterns on a grand scale, refitting with multiple LED sources to highlight building stonework and provide a classic, motivational glow.
Several years ago, this New York City Designated Landmark began a renovation and upgrade, part of which was to renew its Fifth Avenue and 58th street facades. This meant reworking its historic grand scale exterior wall lanterns. Over the years, age and city grime had reduced their visual impact to an after-thought. The fixtures were taken down, and then brought to the Rambusch workshops for cleaning and reconstruction. To guide the restoration, a third party conservator assessed the lanterns’ condition. They were cleaned, mechanically supported, fully restored, and their finish was returned to an established point in time, matching each to the other with great exactitude.
The fixtures had a double duty to illuminate the building façade and graze the stone structure, so the inner lighting elements were reworked to hide color changing LED floodlights and an accent behind the lantern crown. New LED lamps were added to recreate the old interior glow of the oversize fixtures.
However, since one of the beloved lanterns had been lost, perhaps the most challenging part of the project was to create an exact replica to complete the new facade layout. The results are a returned elegance to this world famous fashion emporium. The lights are now worthy of “Fifth Avenue’s finest,” the building with the name Bergdorf Goodman.
