New Exhibit Exploring Guastavino Structural Tiles Opens 3/26 at City Museum

The Museum of the City of New York announces Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile, an exhibition showcasing the architectural beauty and engineering strength of spaces created by Spanish immigrants Rafael Guastavino and his son, Rafael Jr., who immigrated to New York from Barcelona in the late 19th century. Their legacy can be seen in thin-tile structural vaults hidden in plain sight throughout New York City, including Grand Central Terminal and the famous Oyster Bar, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the Ellis Island Registry Hall, the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo, the Boathouse and Tennis Shelter in Prospect Park, and many more. Once widely influential and sought out by McKim, Mead & White and other leading architects of the day, the Guastavino Company is now almost forgotten despite the millions of people who pass through spaces defined by their design.

"Guastavino vaults represent a remarkable marriage of art and engineering, and nowhere is the Guastavinos' work more prominent than in New York City, the firm's base of operations," said Susan Henshaw Jones, the Ronay Menschel Director of the City Museum. "This exhibition tells the extraordinary story of an immigrant family that literally helped create the face of New York. As people walk the streets of our city, they are often unaware of the architectural treasures hiding in office buildings, parks, and even subway stations. The Guastavinos exercised a profound influence on New York City's architectural character, and we are thrilled that Palaces of the People will showcase their unparalleled brilliance."

The exhibition will showcase never-before-seen materials and drawings from the Guastavino Company's archives at Columbia University's Avery Library and a replica of a Guastavino vault, as well as contemporary photographs by Michael Freeman and a video installation that enables viewers to "visit" Guastavino spaces in the gallery. Palaces for the People was first organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's John Ochsendorf, but the exhibition has been expanded by the City Museum to focus on New York City projects. The companion catalog is Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Palaces for the People is presented by City Museum in partnership with the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, adapting and expanding an exhibition originally organized by John Ochsendorf, Project Director and Curator, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Photo by Michael Freeman