Business

Favorite Projects from 2022

Every year goes by faster and faster, but every year I am able to work with the most incredible clients to enhance their buildings or preserve historical architecture. In 2022, our team worked on many projects, but a couple of my favorites were ones with which I was able to bring history back to life and rekindle some of what was lost. Hand-Carved Tracery Window There’s a beautiful church in Manhattan that you may drive past without ever knowing about its incredible history. As one of just five ministries of the Collegiate Churches of New York, the church showcases the…

Hand-Carved Brownstone for the Palace Hotel in New York City

Recently, I was able to put my skills, knowledge, and years of experience to use carving beautiful Brownstone features for the Palace Hotel in New York City. Commissioned for this job because of my professionalism and reputation, I was honored to be able to put the Petrillo mark in such a beautiful and historical location. Carving Brownstone Brownstone, sometimes called ‘freestone’ is honestly one of my favorite stones to use for carving. Not only does this stone have a rich history in early American construction – but carving into this stone feels like carving into butter. Back in the late…

Hand-Carving a Tracery Window at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Manhattan

I absolutely love historic stonework, especially when it comes to churches and colleges that pre-date even the founding fathers. This last month, we were able to work on the Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Manhattan by hand-carving a tracery window. While this specific building was erected in 1907, it is actually a part of a much bigger group of churches, called the Collegiate Churches of New York. These churches date as far back as 1623. It’s All in the Details A church with that much history demands detail and attention with any addition or renovation. My time was well spent,…

Carving and Installing Limestone Work at Fordham University

The team at Petrillo Stone was recently contacted by Fordham University. They were interested in adding two limestone carvings to their Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, NY. Our team started hand-carving a cross that was 10 ft by 8 ft and a University Seal that had a 12 feet diameter. It took us a few months to carve the cross and the seal at our Mount Vernon, NY facility. But once they were ready, we installed them in less than a week at the new McShane Campus center at Fordham University. Get a closer look:

Construction on a 50-Story Office Tower in New York City

The team at Petrillo Stone was excited to recently be awarded a multimillion-dollar contract for our most recent project with the CommonWealth Partners’ property in the lobby of their 50-story office at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City. This building houses an athletic club, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, two restaurants, a parking garage, and offers direct access to transportation. Our contract consists of removing and salvaging stone benches, planters, and lighting, known as Flanagan Sculpture. Our team is drafting, supplying, and installing over 20,000 square feet of Avorio Limestone, Calacatta Marble, Absolute Black Granite, Porcelain, Ceramic Tile, and Silestone….

The Restoration of Notre Dame De Paris

On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris suffered extensive damage. It’s spire, lead roof, and oak frame were destroyed from a fire at the iconic cathedral. Thankfully, the main structure of the building was unharmed. It was apparent that the fire started from an electrical short. Following protocol, the firefighters knew to keep the water pressure low and avoid spraying the stained glass windows so the cold water wouldn’t shatter the hot glass. They were able to save the buttresses, towers, facade, walls, and stained glass windows. Restoring of an 850-Year-Old Cathedral President Emmanuel Macron said the cathedral would be…

Creating 14 Limestone Carvings Depicting Ignatius Loyola

The team at Petrillo Stone recently used Indiana limestone to create these 14 carvings depicting the life of Ignatius Loyola. We did this using the original molds from the 1950s. Ralph Petrillo is pictured next to one of the carvings. Ignatius Loyola was a Spanish priest who co-founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He was born in 1491 to a family of minor nobility. He was one of 13 children. When he was 30 years old, he was injured during a battle with the French. While recuperating from his injury, Ignatius began reading about Jesus and the Saints which…

6 Types of Stone We Commonly Use for Our Projects

As you might guess, not all stone is created equal. Certain varieties of stone are not as useful for building materials. At Petrillo Stone, we commonly use these 6 materials in our projects: Basalt: This stone is usually between medium and fine grain. It’s commonly used to build roads, bridge piers, dams, and river walls. Granite: Granite has a crystalline structure, and the grain can be anywhere from fine to coarse. This stone is mostly made up of quartz and feldspar, with a little bit of mica and amphibole. Sandstone: When combined with silica cement, this material is used to…

Working on an Exterior Wall at Fordham University

Ralph Petrillo and the rest of the Petrillo Stone team enjoyed working on the exterior of Fordham University’s Lincoln Center. Built in the 1950s, this beautiful masonry building is home to the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet. It’s located a block east of Broadway, also near Central Park, in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen.

14 Stone Carvings at Fordham University

Petrillo Stone has been contracted for work on 14 stone carvings at Fordham University. So far, we’ve finished the first carving, with the second following close behind. The carvings depict the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Check out these photos of Ralph Petrillo and carver Michael Orekunrin: The final 14 carvings will be put in a new building to be constructed this year at the Rose Hill Campus.

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