August 20, 2024 – St. Bartholomew's Conservancy has been awarded $749,840 from the Save America's Treasures grant program to support preservation of the Stanford White Triple Portal, the main entrance to St. Bartholomew's Church, a National Historic Landmark on Park Avenue in New York City.
Administered by the National Park Service, the Save America’s Treasures awarded $25.7 million in grants to fund 59 projects that will preserve nationally significant sites and historic collections in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
The Stanford White Triple Portal, a masterpiece incorporating three sets of spectacular bas-relief cast bronze doors and carved stone iconographic sculpture created in 1903, was transported from the previous Madison Avenue site of St. Bartholomew’s to its current Park Avenue location in 1918. There it was heralded by celebrated architect Bertram G. Goodhue as “perhaps the most beautiful thing of its kind in America,” and was the defining feature of his design for the new St. Bartholomew’s site.
In addition to Stanford White, the Triple Portal unites the genius of renowned American sculptors — Herbert Adams, Philip Martiny, and Andrew O’Connor who worked under the direction of Daniel Chester French.
Crucial Support for Preservation
Carole Bailey French, President, St. Bartholomew's Conservancy Board of Directors: "The Triple Portal is a remarkable example of the early 20th century renaissance in American art and architecture. For that reason alone it is imperative to conserve and maintain it for future generations."
Constance Evans, Executive Director, St. Bartholomew's Conservancy: "The award from the SAT grant program is transformational. We could not be more grateful for this crucial support and the collaboration of the National Park Service. The grant will focus on the preservation of the Cipollino marble columns, iconographic sculpture, the bronze doors and the limestone steps that comprise the Triple Portal. On completion of fundraising for the project, the Conservancy will provide $2,957,505 in matching funds."
The Right Reverend Dean Wolfe, Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church: "We are thrilled by the news of this extraordinary support for the Conservancy! The SAT grant underscores the urgency of preserving a vital piece of our nation’s artistic and architectural heritage, and we look forward to the restoration that preserves the transcendental beauty of the Stanford White Triple Portal."
Walter Sedovic, Founding Principal & CEO, WSA ModernRuins and Conservancy Board member: "Once restored, the Triple Portal – for the first time in generations – will be presented to New York City and the world in its authentic form, as it was intended to be experienced…at once nuanced and majestic, offering a sense of permanence while living in harmony with its ethereal nature. There is really nothing else quite like it.”
The St. Bartholomew's site on Park Avenue between 50th and 51st Street was designated a New York City Landmark in 1967 along with Grand Central Station and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. St. Bartholomew’s Conservancy is a private 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization established to help fund restoration and preservation of the exterior and gardens of the historic St. Bartholomew's site.
This project to preserve the Stanford White Triple Portal is supported in part by a Save America's Treasures grant, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
