Liberty Tower

Landmark Restoration

Liberty Tower, is one of the city’s early romantic skyscrapers built in 1910 as a commercial office building by Henry Ives Cobb. Cobb elegantly designed this building incorporating ornamental detailing on the façade and utilized terracotta as the primary cladding material. The New York Landmarks Conservancy has recognized the impeccable preservation and restoration efforts made to keep the Gothic Revival style of Liberty Tower intact by awarding them the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2010.

In the 1980s, Liberty Tower underwent a residential conversion, one of the first in FiDi to do so. Today, the building is 33 stories and has 89 residential units. FirstService Project Management (FSPM) was hired to restore the building several times. Initially, our team worked on the entrance and lobby of the building, restoring the original marble that ordained the floors and walls. We were able to preserve the gilded entry-way revolving doors and bring the original design back to life. All the marble used during the restoration of the lobby matched the color and pattern of the original exactly.

Our attention to detail and effort to keep the original design intact drove the board to hire our team again when Liberty Tower was up for Local Law 11 inspection. FirstService Project Management performed an extensive façade restoration, preserving the distinct Gothic detailing on the white terracotta façade. We worked diligently to secure one of the few vendors that could obtain the terracotta and re-create the prolific surface ornaments ranging from gargoyles to alligators. FSPM was able to replace over 50 uniquely designed pieces and 800 terracotta stones across the façade of the building. We finished on schedule and $100,000 below budget adhering to the strict landmark preservation standards.