Article: How forgotten Spanish masons' tiles transformed American cities
Throughout New York City and beyond, the largely forgotten Guastavinos built some of America'€™s greatest public spaces
Have you ever noticed the vaulted tile ceilings of the Oyster Bar inside the Grand Central Terminal? Have you ever walked under the polychrome tile arches and vaults of the Elephant House of the Bronx Zoo?
The Museum of the City of New York is revealing a secret kept for decades behind many iconic American public buildings.
At least 200 of New York’s most prominent Beaux-Arts landmarks were built more than a century ago by a father-son team of masons from Spain.
Not only did Rafael Guastavino Sr. and his son (also named Rafael) help build some of the nation’s most iconic structures between 1881 and 1962, they also revolutionized American architectural design and construction with their tile-vaulting system.
Once you identify some of their architectural chef-d’oeuvres, you’ll start seeing them all over.
Once you identify some of their architectural chef-d’oeuvres, you’ll start seeing them all over.
Their ceilings grace landmarks around the country from the Nebraska State Capitol to the dome of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. They even ornament ordinary buildings. One of them is the Engine No. 3, a small brick firehouse built in 1916 not far from the U.S. Capitol.
Although they helped build more than 1,000 buildings in 11 countries, the name Guastavino remained largely unknown.
In an effort to shed light on the story of these avant-gardist architects, the Museum of the City of New York has just opened the exhibition “Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces,” running through Sept. 7.
Originally curated by John Ochsendorf, a 2008 MacArthur Fellow and professor in architecture at MIT, the exhibition first opened in 2012 in Boston. It was the result of a seven-year cooperation between Ochsendorf’s team and the city’s public library. Last year, the exhibition moved to the National Building Museum in Washington.
The latest exhibit is substantially expanded to highlight some 20 key Guastavino spaces in New York’s five boroughs.
