Summer 1992 Table of Contents
Metcalfe House Windows going to Met, joining Stair Hall
By Amy L. Krzeminski
Installation of the stair hall from the the 1884 Metcalfe house in New York City's Metropolitan Museum was the focus of the Preservation Coalition's March 17 lecture.
The talk about the building, designed by McKim, Mead and White and demolished in 1980, was given by Peter M. Kenny, the Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts of the Metropolitan Museum.
Mr. Kenny's lecture and slide show illustrated problems that the Met experienced while reconstructing the stair hall, emphasized its significance to the American Wing, reviewed sources for the Metcalfe House and looked at other homes designed by the renowned firm.
To the surprise of Mr. Kenny and the lecture attendees, Lucy Brainard, who lived in the Metcalfe house as a child, spoke up, adding an interesting twist to the lecture with her early memories of the home.
A tour of the Metcalfe library and dining room,which is now installed at Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College, followed the lecture.
Mr. Kenny's visit to Buffalo proved extremely fruitful, leading the curator to two of the original stained glass windows from the house.
One of the windows was sold to the Met by the Hamburg Historical Society and the other donated by John Lenahan.
The stair hall, which has been on display since November 1991, will undergo remodeling to accommodate the two windows in their original place in the inglenook, opposite the staircase.
