Guild members Gwen Jones and Ken Forcier of
Gracewood Design have recently completed a project for the
Hamilton Grange, the historic home of
Alexander Hamilton, which will reopen to the public in September 2011.
This is the most significant National Parks Services site in New York City. The house has been moved into Manhattan's
St. Nicholas Park and undergone a five-year restoration.
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| The Hamilton Grange in Saint Nicholas Park, New York City |
Original details of the house such as the marvelous side porches have been restored to their 1802 form. These are accessed from a trio of floor level windows that can be walked through from the living room and dining room, which abut each porch. Another exceptional original detail is that the inside of the doors that access the living room and dining room from the entry halls are mirrored, reflecting the views outside the porches. In 1802, in the home’s original location, this view was the Harlem River on one side and the East River on the other.
Gracewood Design was awarded the contract to make three floorcloths for the Grange - for the front and back entry hall and a side hall. The pattern is based on floorcloth remnant from the archive of the project’s architects and and is a version of a pattern from
John Carwitham’s 1739 publication, “Various Kinds of Floor Decorations.”
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| detail of the floorcloth pattern |
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| Gwen stenciling the floorcloth |
The floorcloth was made in Gracewood's studio in Portland, Oregon, oversized, so it could be installed on site wall to wall and trimmed to fit perfectly.
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| The floorcloth in production at Gracewood's studio |
Installation was done on site covering the original floorboards.
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| Back Entry Hall floor |
To the extent possible, the original floorboards were used, and their position maintained. The floor, as no doubt it was originally, is somewhat uneven and pitched.
Heavy grade canvas (#4 cotton duck, weighing 24 ounces per square yard) was used as the underlayment for the floorcloths. The canvas was laid in place and then stapled around the edges of the floor, and the excess was cut away. This was a somewhat tricky job, due to the fluting on the trim and the angles of the arrowhead end of the entry halls.
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| Heavy canvas underlayment in place |
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| Ken likes a clean site! |
In order to fit the floorcloths, a template was painstakingly constructed of each hall. The template was then placed on the rectangular floorcloth and the floorcloth was cut to exactly match the template.
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| Template being made for the back entry |
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| Ken in the Front Entry after installation |
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| installed side hall- staircase view |
Congratulations to Gracewood Design for another amazing and unusual historic installation!
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You can read more about this project and the fabrication and installation details details at the Gracewood Design website.
