restoring the iconic stained glass @ RCA Victor building #17

[brianu]

the four huge stained glass windows atop the tower of original victor factory building 17 with the iconic image of dog and phonograph have been languishing in disrepair for some time now and only getting worse, despite the building's restoration and conversion into apartments (where I presently live) about six years ago. apparently they're about to repair them as well... just saw a story in the philadelphia inquirer and thought I'd post it.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnis ... dmark.html




Kevin Riordan: Nipper has lost his head
Damaged windows have bothered Camden residents.
By Kevin Riordan

Inquirer Columnist

Nipper has lost his head but not his patience.

In a beautiful but broken set of stained-glass windows high above the heart of Camden, parts of the vintage RCA-Victor mascot still await His Master's Voice.

Six large sections of stained glass have been blown inside the Victor Lofts tower in recent years, leaving three Nippers without their iconically cocked heads.

In one window, poor Nipper's body is also gone. At least the curious canine still possesses total terrier-ness on the tower's east side.

The deterioration of what's not only a regional landmark but a symbol of Camden's perpetually on-the-horizon renaissance dismays history buffs, downtown workers, and this columnist.

"An embarrassment," says Fred Barnum, author of the 1991 book His Master's Voice in America, a history of RCA-Victor and related companies.

"We've been calling and calling" the building's management, adds Ron McHugh, a Pine Hill resident who has an extensive collection of company memorabilia.

Now it looks as if Nipper's long wait is almost over.

Carl Dranoff, whose company transformed the onetime "Victrola" plant into the snazzy, 341-unit complex, expects a $75,000-plus restoration of the windows to begin soon.

"We have been at this for many, many, many, many months," Dranoff says, perhaps mindful of complaints about the marred top of his tower.

"We had to discover what the problem was," he explains. "Then we had to find someone qualified to fix it. These are all separate, handmade [stained-glass] parts."

Gartner Stained Glass Studios of Abington will do the honors. "The stained-glass artist has already taken [samples] of the remaining windows and is preparing to commence the work," says project manager Michael Asnes.

He expects that replacement panels will be fabricated within the next two months and that repairs will be finished by the end of the year.

It's not a simple task. The circular windows are 15 feet in diameter and stand 12 stories above Market Street.

The original windows from 1916 were removed in the 1970s. They were re-created and reinstalled in the 1980s, and again in 1998.

"We thought the windows would be up there for 20 or 30 years," says Dranoff, who bought the building in 2002.

The $75 million transformation of what had been RCA Building 17 into The Victor was completed in 2004; some time after, individual glass panels began to blow into the tower's interior.

"Water, wind, and pigeons have weakened the internal frames which hold the panels in place," Asnes says.

"The repair work will include replicating and replacing the missing panels, as well as installing a reinforcing bar system on the interior of the windows."

The prospect of Nipper being put back together heartens Sandy Levins, president of the Camden County Historical Society. The society's museum has one of the original windows.

"It's terrific news," says Levins, calling Nipper "a symbol of Camden's world fame as the city that pioneered the recorded music industry."

The repairs come as Dranoff's long-stalled Radio Lofts condominium project appears to be moving ahead. A 10-story former RCA building on Cooper Street near Second Street has been gutted, and "by the spring of 2011 it should be ready for the next phase" of construction, Dranoff says.

"I continue to be Camden's biggest cheerleader," the developer adds. "We're going to do the Nipper windows right. They're a symbol of what made the city great, and we get that."

The windows also have sentimental value for the thousands of employees of RCA and related companies who still live in South Jersey.

"This means a lot to me," says McHugh, who works for L-3 Communications, the successor to RCA in downtown Camden.

"My mother and father met there in the late '40s and '50s," he says. "If it wasn't for that building, I wouldn't be here."

[schweg]

That's great news. When I was growing up in the area, Camden was a place to avoid. Last time I visited, we went to the aquarium and could see how much had been done to fix up the area. Glad to see some parts of S. NJ being revitalized.

Steve S

[Henry]

As the article notes, the Camden County Historical Society has one of the original windows. Another is in the Smithsonian, and a third is in the Widener College library (that one I've seen). Anybody know the location of the fourth? Just curious.

[gramophone78]

I think the forth one is still owned by RCA.At least the originals are safe forever.I'm gald they will fix them.Funny how the originals were up there for decades and were able to stand the test of time.These are the second and nor third windows in how many years.I guess they just don't make them like they use to .

[gregbogantz]

It irritates me that these kinds of restorations of historic structures are often headed by "artists". These guys have no knowledge of or care regarding the durability of materials. I live near Asheville, NC, which has a reputation for its arts community. Several years ago, a modernistic large metal sculpture that had been residing in the center of the downtown area was judged to be a public danger because it was rusting to pieces. Children had been allowed to climb and play on it, but it was becoming hazardous. So what does the city do? They commission a local "artist" to rebuilt the thing. And he does. Just like it was originally, out of plain old welded steel. So that it will fall apart again in another 20 years. The "artists" don't want to disturb the original way these kinds of structures age and develop their "patina". Well, that's well and good when they aren't exposed to the elements of nature and are likely to become a public hazard when they become structurally unsound. How about using stainless steel, bronze, or something else durable for these kinds of exposed, public structures? If the original structure was made of durable material, it wouldn't need restoration in the first place. Rebuilding old designs with better modern materials may not achieve the much-objectified "patina", but they also won't fall apart on unsuspecting pedestrians walking under or around them. And they won't need tens of thousands of dollars to be repeatedly thrown at them in an endless series of future restorations.

[brianu]

right, I completely agree. but in the case of these (rca-)victor windows, I think the originals held up far better and far far longer (before they were removed in about the last quarter of the 20th century) than the artists' reproductions that have been there since at least the 80's, the modern versions that are presently falling apart - mainly for lack of proper maintenance (as in, regular repairs of cracks, etc.). according to the article, the "new" reproductions that will replace those are going to be better made - in terms of your criticisms - to withstand time and the elements, perhaps equal to if not better than even the originals... with additional features such as the metal reinforcements, etc. I'm eager to see how they turn out.

[gramophone78]

Regardless of how its done......it will look great!!!!!!.I wanted to ask.Are these still lit at night??.

[estott]

I don't think it's the modern windows that are failing but the old framework they have been set into- was it left exposed after the originals were removed? In any respect the framework might have been reaching the end of it's useful life- it's just steel and I can't imagine it was regularly painted and maintained.

[Henry]

It's not rocket science. There are firms that specialize in fabricating/restoring stained glass in churches; I've seen some of this modern work, and the results are splendid. It seems to me that there is little, if any, difference in principle between church-window stained glass and Victor stained glass. Like most everything else, it's simply a matter of (a)money, and (b)competence. I'm sure that a generous application of both would yield results satisfactory to all.

[Radio Ron]

I hope they do it right.
I have a puzzle of the round Nipper window that I got from
the estate of an old friend that worked in the RCA engineering dept
at Camden for many years.
It's still sealed in the original box, I've been thinking about
putting it together and having it framed to go in my display room.