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The Park Avenue Armory’s cavernous Drill Hall is certainly its most impressive feature, but the real jewel in its architectural crown is a much smaller space called The Veteran’s room. Its opulent interior comes courtesy of Louis Comfort Tiffany Associated Artists, which won the commission for its design back in 1879. Now it’s being reopened to the public after a restoration spearheaded by Herzog & de Meuron with Platt Byard Dovell White Architects
The Veteran’s room’s wood- and ironwork, carvings and stained glass windows represent a High Victorian mélange of styles from Greek and Celtic to Japanese and Persian—all of it held together by Tiffany’s touch of je ne sais quoi, though he was helped out by period starchitect Stanford White and the “mother of interior design,” Candace Wheeler.
The space had grown shabby over the years, losing some its original details during previous repairs. The latest rehab restores those elements and adds some new ones comporting with the overall style. The room has also received 21st-century mechanical upgrades, such as the replacement of 19th-century gas jets in the ceiling fixtures with LED lighting. Acoustical elements have been introduced as well, turning the room into a performance venue in accordance with the Armory’s overall transformation into a cutting-edge cultural center.
You can check it out starting today as the Armory’s Artists Studio series kicks off with performances by jazz pianist, composer and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran.