Merchant's House Museum

Servants’ Quarters Reopen after Restoration

On Saturday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – the fourth-floor Servants’ Quarters reopened following a major structural restoration. The Servants’ Quarters, “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City,” according to Time Out New York, had been closed since November, when work began to restore the time and weather-worn walls in the servants’ bedroom, where the Tredwell family’s Irish servants slept and did some of their work.

Our research included an extensive paint and finishes analysis, as well as a physical investigation of the room. Since no photographs or other evidence remain to tell us how this room was furnished, we also studied period domestic manuals, archival materials, and general histories of servants and Irish immigrants.

During the restoration, we made several discoveries:

• The blue walls are a close approximation of the color they were painted during the 1850s, when we know the Tredwells undertook a top-to-bottom redecoration of the house. The paint was a limewash, which was much less expensive than regular paint, so it was used in servant rooms as well as service areas such as kitchens, which needed to be repainted more frequently. It was also considered to be a hygienic, sanitary wall covering.  To achieve the blue color, a cobalt-blue earth pigment was added to the limewash.  The blue color helps to reflect light around the space and was not uncommon in servants’ quarters.
• The iron brace extending from the far wall provides added support for the brick façade. Very early layers of paint were found on the brace, suggesting it was original to the construction of the House in 1832.
• A coal stove, in use by the 1840s or 1850s, provided heat during the winter months.Evidence of a hole for a stove pipe was found in the upper section of the west wall, which gave us a clue as to where the stove was placed. The stove pipe fed into one of the existing brick flues for the fireplaces. Until the 1850s, the room was unheated.

Ongoing Restoration News: These Walls Can Talk. Still.

On Friday, September 16, in preparation for the next stage of our structural restoration project, sheets of 20th century architectural canvas were removed from the east wall in the parlor floor hallway — revealing the original plaster, complete with 19th-century paint. The cracks caused by water and the passage of time have now been repaired and a temporary paint coat applied.

The “Fab-rik-o-na” canvas was applied in 1935 by the Museum’s founder, George Chapman, to create a smooth surface over aging plaster — a common practice at that time. When the canvas layer (and its coats of 20th century paint) was peeled away, it revealed a 19th-century wall surface that hadn’t been seen in over 75 years. It also uncovered a wealth of clues that will provide information about how the House was decorated, how the hallway was used, and when the Tredwells (who lived here for nearly 100 years) made changes.

• A hole near the foyer shows where a pipe was attached for a free-standing coal stove. No doubt cold air swept in whenever the front door was opened. The stove was removed when the family installed an elevator in the same spot following daughter Sarah’s carriage accident in 1872.
• Dark lines on the wall show where the elevator shaft was built out into the hallway, corresponding exactly with evidence of the elevator discovered on the hallway floorboards in an earlier investigation.
• A plaster patch the size of a quarter near the ceiling indicates that a substantial picture hook was once attached in line with the ceiling medallion for the hallway light fixture. It’s likely that a mirror once hung there, to reflect the light and create the illusion of moore space.
• The 1870 paint color in the hallway is now visible.  It has oxidized to an ocher and the glaze over it is also clearly visible. Further paint analysis will determine the original color, of course. It also matches the color that the house was painted in the early 1930s, when it became a museum.
• A fragment of 1840s/50s floor cloth was found under the plumbing chase on the wall.

The evidence provided by the newly revealed wall will go a long way towards unraveling some of the more persistent riddles about the House. Stay tuned.

House-Wide Structural Restoration

Maintaining our 1832 landmark building requires ongoing work. The current phase of restoration includes repairs to the decorative plaster finishes in a number of our period rooms; a complete upgrade of the Museum’s electrical system; repair and painting of the rear façade and 13 original windows; and restoration of the decorative wood cornice on the front façade.

The $598,000 project, which has been generously funded by our Councilmember, Rosie Mendez, is scheduled for completion by April 30. While we remain ‘open for business” during the restoration work, unfortunately we are not able to display any of the dresses in the collection. Also, some period rooms may be closed for short periods of time while the work is completed.

Historic Furnishings Plan

In an effort to present an even more authentic interpretation of the house and the family’s original furnishings, we are in the midst of extensive research to ensure that window treatments, carpeting, and placement of the Tredwell furniture accurately represent our period – 1835-1865. For example, we have removed the badly worn hall carpet to study the floor beneath for evidence of nail holes and paint to guide us in choosing appropriate replacement. The bedroom carpets were taken up to provide access for the removal and reinstallation of the recently conserved gas chandeliers in the parlors.

As part of the research for the Historic Furnishings Plan, we are conducting extensive analysis of the paint and decorative finishes in our period rooms. Microscopic and chemical analyses of samples taken tell us what kinds of paints and what colors were used during different periods of the house’s history. This will guide us in our selection of colors for repainting.