Divine Stone

(This is an encore post. The original was interrupted to promote a time sensitive event at the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York.)

The third generation stonecutter grew up in the village of Priddy in Somerset, England, in the Mendip Hills. At the age of 16 he went to nearby Wells Cathedral, which was dedicated in 1239, and told them he wanted to be a stonecutter. They took him on as an apprentice, their first in 20 years. For the next 13 years he learned from some of the best stone craftsmen around, including the value of patience.

I had no talent and I had no idea what a chisel or a mallet was but I guess I had stone dust in my blood and I was eager to learn.

– Alan Bird

While Alan worked on restoration at Wells Cathedral, he must have walked under the signature scissor arches hundreds of times. Three of these arches were installed around 1338 by master mason William Joy. The cathedral was complete by then, but a combination of subsidence and a newly improved heavier tower lead to cracks and concerns. The scissor arches (also referred to as strainer arches) at Salisbury preceded the ones at Wells by a few years. The arches relieve the central crossing tower’s weight on the crossing piers. They have been doing their job for centuries.

In 1980, Master Builder Jim Bambridge offered Alan an opportunity to work at the Stoneyard Institute of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He would be taking over for Chris Hannaway who returned to England. The 29 year old had never been to America, had never been on a plane.  He came for a two week visit to see what it was all about.  The differences between New York and home were stark. “You have to understand,” said Alan “I came from a quaint, historic part of England, 30 miles from Stonehenge. There was nothing to do but romp around the field and search for arrowheads.”  He stayed – for the stone, for an opportunity to see that first stone on the southwest tower, a stone on stone new build, not a restoration.

Destined to be a natural leader, Alan saw that first stone set, the cornerstone of the southwest tower. Several thousand more were cut and carved and fixed on the tower. In 1986, Alan and the nine other craftsmen he supervised saw the tower go up 9 feet. He oversaw the stoneyard at the Cathedral for 10 years, finished stones, trained new apprentices and saw the tower rise  a total of 50 feet. 

During Alan’s time at the Cathedral, there was another master mason at the Cathedral. Stephen Boyle was brought in by Jim Bambridge to oversee the fixing of the newly cut stones on the southwest tower. The Yorkshireman trained at Chichester and Salisbury. During the building season, controlled by weather, Stephen would be up on the tower. Who better to speak about Alan than a similarly trained and skilled colleague. Steve tells us this…

“Alan was the first member of the Stoneyard crew that I met when I was interviewed. At the time he was working in the setting-out shop as well as running the stone yard.  From what I remember, the setting out was what had originally attracted Alan to the project at SJD, as there was the chance to learn from Bambridge how to set out loadbearing stonework on a very large scale for a brand-new project. There were few other projects at the time that could offer this kind of opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge. Alan would have to uproot his family and leave the UK in order to participate. Of course, there would’ve been plenty of setting out at Wells but on a much smaller scale and for reproducing historic work rather than for a new structure. Alan spent quite a lot of time in the setting out shop when he first arrived at the cathedral, but stone production demands soon meant that Alan had to dedicate his full time to the stone cutting operations. Jeep (Kincannon) and Cynthia (Linton) subsequently took over the setting out.

“Running the stone yard presented its own set of challenges. I can’t remember a time in any of the three administrations when Alan wasn’t under immense pressure either to maintain the cube rate or provide sufficient stone for the Tower construction season and later for the restoration projects undertaken during the Walsh and Teitelbaum administrations. He was also responsible for training apprentices, keeping the machine shop running at full capacity, organizing the completed stone stacks, estimating the blocks and slabs to determine which stones could be gleaned from them, filing the completed job tickets and being responsible for Quality Assurance and Control. Amazingly and much to his credit, almost all stones that were cut for the tower fit without complications and I don’t remember the Tower construction ever coming to a halt because a piece was not able to be set. In the later years he would also be the first to become involved with trouble shooting problems on outside projects such as the Jewish Museum and Cedar St., usually because installers weren’t up to speed with that type of work. 

“A further challenge especially early in the project was to accomplish all the above with a crew which consisted mainly of apprentices and rather basic machinery and plant. Most of the machinery and equipment at the stone yard was antiquated and had been either donated or acquired cheaply. These machines included three saws, a forklift, a mobile crane and a planing machine which had been found abandoned in a field in Indiana. As Alan was in charge, it fell to him to diagnose and arrange for the frequent repairs necessary to keep these machines running. He was a very practical person which I think can be put down to his rural upbringing and the necessity of having the ability to fix things oneself, and he took these emergencies in his stride and kept the place humming.

“An experienced and first-rate craftsman, Alan was generous with everyone in passing on his knowledge of the trade. He showed me some invaluable tricks of the trade including the method of setting up an XY axis to start off a full-size drawing. This is a variation on the perpendicular bisection of a straight line in elementary geometry but with a couple of extra steps and done with a beam compass and trammel points. 

“Alan had his own particular style and methods for working stone. He continued to use the same blue handled one inch wood working chisel that he had used for the soft stone at Wells on the Indiana limestone, to great effect. Alan was a good teacher and had some rules for apprentices including the use of the right tool for the job, “check outs” before chamfers, and to keep tolerances under 1/16”. Areas in which he excelled included a great ability at “twisting in” the centerlines on amorphous blocks, expertise at handling and splitting up the large blocks and slabs, and first-class banker work and an excellent understanding of the moulds and templates and their application.

“Other things I remember Alan for are his extraordinary leadership qualities, a wicked sense of humor and his infectious enthusiasm for stonework. He was also a poet and an avid sports fan. I remember him having a small tattoo of a swallow on his forearm.

“I was greatly saddened when I heard of his passing. I know he was very proud of what was achieved at the Cathedral.”

– Stephen Boyle

Alan was interviewed at the Cathedral many times over the years. These  exchanges conveyed his passion for stone, his belief in quality workmanship, his pride in what he was doing and pride in the crew.

Alan had a competitive nature as well. Frequent chess matches would occur on breaks with Tim Smith; Jim Bambridge joined in a game or two. Dominoes also became a frequent pastime on work breaks and lunch periods in the cutters’ area. The cutters all tried to best Alan. The matches became a sort of team building and bonding opportunity. One winter Alan bulked up a bit and decided a diet was in order. He would weigh-in each morning in the stoneyard and posted his weight. The cutters would bet on a gain or a loss, another contest with Alan at the center of it.

Alan had a vast range of responsibilities that included receiving and storing the large stones from the quarry, and keeping track of the cut stones, numbered and destined for the southwest tower. he watched over the job tickets given to the sawyers and the cutters progress on the stones they were cutting to the provided templates, within an eighth of an inch tolerance. He taught the apprentice cutters how to work and assisted the journeymen in honing their skills. He was patient and generous with his knowledge.

In 1990 a Cathedral affiliate, Colonna & Co and David Teitelbaum created Cathedral Stoneworks. Alan became the Clerk of the Works for that entity. His son Jason, fourth generation stone mason, began his training at the cathedral at this time. A great deal of outside stonework was undertaken. The plan was to generate revenue to fund the continuing construction of the southwest tower.  Sadly, very little work took place on the cathedral and the entity went bankrupt after a few years.  This effectively ended the work of the stoneyard.

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• The Times of London, Englishmen in New York are Keeping the ancient craft of stonemasonry alive, February 3 1987, Paul Vallely
• Wall Street Journal, Ancient Craft Gets New Lease on Life At Harlem Cathedral, September 15, 1986, Robert Guenther
• NY Press, February 22-26, 1991, The Local News, Mark Rose
• Cathedral Stoneworks profiles
• Special thanks to the colleagues and co-workers of Alan Bird for their contributions to this piece — Stephen Boyle, Tim Smith, Joseph Kincannon, Robert F. Rodriguez, and Treese Robb.

The Cathedral Engineers is a 29 minute 1983 film production by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The film documents the long process of building the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It also explores the history of cathedral architecture and tours European Gothic Cathedrals that are St. John’s models.

Shots of the Stoneyard Institute appear towards the beginning, Tim Smith, Poni Baptiste, Jose Tapia and others. Towards the end of the film we see Ruben Gibson cutting and Jim Bambridge setting out the templates.

Watch Here

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• https://archive.org/details/thecathedralengineers

As we come to the end of our fourth year of posting stories about the stonework at the cathedral and the people involved with those stones, we are approaching a new phase in the work. Four years ago Mark Saxe was sure that a book about the stoneyard was not only needed but it would be a wonderful story. The blog began as a vehicle to highlight research for a book so people could see that their story was being worked on.

Along the way we were fortunate to meet up with Robert F. Rodriguez, that amazing photo journalist who recorded the activities in the stoneyard for more than a decade. We are also grateful to have connected with Tom Fedorek, senior guide and Wayne Kempton, cathedral and diocesan archivist. Additionally, we are indebted to all the men and women who worked on the stone and shared their stories. There are now 110 small stories, 70,591 words and 693 images on the site.

There are about 20-25 story lines that should be fleshed out, mainly in the Stoneyard Institute period; we will continue that work. The research on the 1892-1911 work under Bishop Potter and Heins & LaFarge architects is complete. The second period of construction, 1920-1945, under Bishop Manning and Ralph Adams Cram, architect, is almost there. So, it is time to begin weaving these snapshots of stories together into a draft manuscript. And so, we begin…

Much work ahead for all involved, please assist us when we cry out for help with information.

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The relief carving of the symbols for the four evangelists surrounds the “Majestus” on the west front. The term tetramorph refers to a grouping of four. This is the work of the sculptor Theodore Barbarossa. It was likely modeled by the firm of Rochette & Parzini, and carved by their head carver, Mario Tommasi. The work was executed in the late 1960’s. The specific grouping of four here represents the four evangelists. Regardless of material – stained glass, mosaics, painting or stone – the symbolic representation of the four evangelists usually accompanies the image of the Majestus.

No doubt, Canon West was consulted on the iconography appropriate to the evangelists. From his book, Outward Signs – The Language of Christian Symbolism, we find the following:

“The four evangelists seem to have been the first of the saints to receive some visible token of recognition, becoming identified with the four ‘living creatures’ of Revelation. Although there was originally little agreement as to which creature represented which evangelist, there has been, since about the fifth century, a popular consensus…St. Jerome’s iconographic representation is now common to the whole church, East and West.”

– Canon Edward N. West

St. Jeromes representation:

• Matthew – the face of a man
• Mark – a lion
• Luke – an ox
• John – an eagle

The Pilgrims Frieze

The frieze immediately above the great bronze doors of the central portal is also by Barbarossa according to the National Sculpture review. We had previously attributed the design to Canon West and undoubtably there was a collaboration of sorts with the sculptor.

Theodore Barbarossa

Theodore “Ted” Cotillo Barbarossa (1906-1992) studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Yale University. He was a fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and a member of the National Academy of Design. Italian stone carving and plaster casting inspired him. Barbarossa worked in bronze, wood and stone. His work is in churches, museums and public buildings throughout the East Coast. As part of President Roosevelt’s WPA New Deal art initiative, Barbarossa created relief sculptures on post offices and other federal buildings depicting national ideals such as industry, education, and agriculture.

• National Sculpture Review, Winter 1971-72
• Legendary Locals of East Boston, Dr. Regina Marchi
• Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine
• Previous post regarding the Pilgrims’ Frieze

Among the immigrants to the United States between 1830 and 1920 were many skilled artists, stone carvers, and sculptors. Italian stone carvers are a case in point. In the latter half of the 19th century many of the Italian quarries started to go out of business due to foreign competition. Since there was less marble being quarried, there was less of a need for stone carvers and the carving sheds began to close. The social, political and economic upheaval in the Italian marble industry spurred immigration.

The economic opportunities in America and elsewhere would allow them to earn four times what they earned in Italy. Many of these men trained as sculptors at the Fine Arts Academies in Carrara, Florence and Rome. To support themselves and their families while they were establishing themselves in the United States, they carved for others. The following are some key events leading from immigration, through the City Beautiful Movement to the end of WWII.

In the 1880’s, first to the Vermont Marble Company in Rutland and then to Barre to work in granite, the quarry owners recruited the Italian stone workers. This occurred throughout the burgeoning stone quarry sites in the U.S. in places like Marble, Colorado and Sylacauga, Alabama.

The Piccirilli Brothers and the Ardolinos

Others settled in large urban areas and these carvers were associated with many wealthy families, sculptors, politicians and architects. Through varying circumstances, the Piccirilli brothers made their way to New York in 1888 followed by their parents and sister. They soon found enough work to pay the rent and sustain the family. In 1912 Attilio won the commission for the USS Maine monument at the entrance to Central Park at Columbus Circle. This provided them the prominence they sought.

At about the same time, the Ardolino brothers and cousins made their way separately to first Boston and then New York. They became associated with ecclesiastical carvings and the architect Bertram Goodhue and the sculptors John Angel and Lee Lawrie. The reredos at St. Thomas Church at 5th avenue and 53rd was by Rafael Ardolino. Various Ardolinos executed a great deal of the carvings at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine from 1910 into the 1940’s.

Other Stone Carving Immigrants

John Evans (1847 – 1923) was a stone carver and modeler. Born in Caernafon, Wales and trained in England, he settled in Boston in 1873. His company employed 100 workers and did architectural sculpture all over the country. He left an indelible mark on Boston’s buildings and monuments. The work was in granite, marble and sandstone. They did work for Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson and were a favorite of architect H.H. Richardson. They executed the work of sculptor Domingo Mora. The firm also did considerable work on the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

John Donnelly, born in Ireland, the son of a stone carver, came to the United States in 1913. He formed the company John Donnelly & Son. They worked on many buildings in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The Donnelly company carved all of the decorative elements on theNew York City Public library with the exception of the lions (done by the Piccirillis).

Donnelly loved the sailboat races Saturday afternoons but was always worried about the carving job on the Vanderbilt Mansion, so he initiated the halfday Saturday for all of his stone carvers. The tradition carried on after the Vanderbilt job. He also mentioned that in 1890 there were only 320 stone carvers in the country, 140 of them were working for him on the Vanderbilt mansion at 5th Avenue and 55th Street, 80% were British and the rest Germans.

“Though Donnelly’s works were often sculptural, he preferred to be known as a stone mason rather than a sculptor or artist”

– John Donnelly, 80, Stone Carver Dies, New York Times obituary

Roger Morigi was born in Bisuschio, Lombardy in 1907. He apprenticed under his stone carver father beginning at age 11. Morigi also studied at the Academia di Belle Arts di Brera in Milan. He immigrated to the United States in 1927 and worked with his father. In 1932 the John Donnelly Company hired Morigi as a carver to work on the Supreme Court Building. He worked for the John Donnelly Company on the majority of the seven Federal Triangle buildings. Morigi began work as a carver at the National Cathedral in 1950, and was promoted to master carver at the National Cathedral in 1956. He held that position for 22 years.

Gino A. Ratti and his son Eddie were a smaller company but nevertheless stood out next to all the others for their artistry and carvings. Ratti was born in Carrara, Italy in 1882. He left Italy in 1907 for the United States. Edward Ratti later worked on the Washington National Cathedral.

The City Beautiful Movement

The City Beautiful Movement was America’s urban planning movement (1890’s-1920’s). The movement gained ground with the World’s Columbia Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. A temporary city was constructed primarily in the Beaux-Arts style. The concept focused on incorporating a civic center, parks and grand boulevards mimicking European cities. The movement happened at a time when the country’s urban population began to out number its rural population. Most cities were considered ugly, congested, dirty and unsafe.

Once artists, architects and other visitors returned to their cities after the exposition; they realized it was essential to the public welfare of the people to take heed of the urban landscape. Many American cities embarked on public buildings and art projects in order to beautify their cities. New York, Cleveland, San Francisco, Detroit and Washington, D.C. all began these efforts.

European trained sculptors and carvers were instantly prepared to execute these projects. The immigrant carving families and individuals mentioned above were poised to carry out the many projects.

It should be noted that over time the movement’s short comings came to the fore. It became apparent that improvement of the physical city without addressing social and economic issues would not substantially improve urban life.

The McMillan Plan -1902, Washington, D.C.

At the time, Washington, D.C. was no more beautiful than the average American city, with the exception of factories belching soot on the inhabitants. The McMillan Plan was deeply influenced by the City Beautiful Movement as well as the Louvre-Tuileries complex in Paris and the Whitehall area in London.

Additionally, the McMillan Plan sought to restore and amplify Pierre L’Enfant’s original plan for the city with its formal grandeur influenced by the designs of European cities and gardens.

Most of the recommendations of McMillan eventually materialized, mostly before WWII. Appropriations were authorized by the Public Building Act of 1926. $50 million was provided for the construction of the Federal Triangle and a new Supreme Court building and another $25 million to buy up the private land required.

The Federal Triangle

The decorative embellishment of the Federal Triangle was one of the last grand examples of the Beaux-arts principles that had swept the country at the turn of the century. The exterior architectural ornamentation for the seven buildings represented the largest concentrated program of its type ever undertaken by the government. Construction began in 1927 with the final sculptural element installed in 1941. The project’s exteriors consisted of 15 pediments with figurative groups, and at least 65 other designs of varying importance scattered throughout the complex of structures. All told, interior and exterior, there were 112 works by 44 sculptors and a vast industry of modelers, plaster casters, studio assistants and stone carvers. The Piccirilli’s, Ardolino’s, John Donnelly & Son and Gino Ratti all worked on the project. John Evans had passed away in 1923.

The National Archives Building

Of the seven buildings in the Federal Triangle, the jewel in the crown is the National Archives building. The architect chosen for the building was John Russell Pope. This was not a grand office building but the visual symbol of America’s heritage and its destiny.

Proportionately more was spent on architectural sculpture and decorative detail on this building than any other in the Federal Triangle.

The total cost of the decoration came to $360,000 (roughly $6,212,000 today) Of this sum, $190,200 was paid for the models of the three sculptors, $17,557 for the commercial models, and $152,940 for the stone carving

– George Gurney, Sculpture and the Federal Triangle

John Russel Pope selected 3 sculptors for the work on the building. He selected sculptors he knew and worked with and who he felt sure would carry out his vision. The sculptors also had their favorite stone carvers from past associations. There are two major facades to the building. The south facade and main entrance on Constitution Avenue and the equally important north facade on Pennsylvania Avenue. Each side had three major architectural sculpture features, a large pediment (18’6″ X 106′) and two ground level 10 foot statues.

South Facade – Constitution Avenue

North Facade – Pennsylvania Avenue

The fifty years between 1890 and 1940 saw the heyday of architectural sculpture in the U.S. After World War II architectural trends moved to the modern simplicity of glass and steel. These buildings were cheaper and quicker to erect, with little if any sculptural decorations. Young men and women returning from the war, or emerging from civilian war work, were presented with a myriad of opportunities for their professional lives. The supply of stone carvers dwindled as the demand for architectural sculpture wained.

John Connelly died in July, 1947; Edward Ardolino died in April, 1945; Attilio Piccirilli died in October, 1945; Gino Ratti died in 1937. In the most part, their companies did not survive them. When a skill is not taught or practiced it is known to die out within 3 generations. Consider how Dean Morton went to England in the late 1970’s to secure the help of Master Builder Jim Bambridge at the conclusion of the Liverpool Cathedral building. Consider how Bambridge enlisted Chris Hanaway, Alan Bird, Stephen Boyle and Nicholas Fairplay from England to train a new group of New York apprentices in stone cutting and carving.

In this century, several men and women found their way to work and learn in places like Kincannon Studios and Fairplay Stone Carvers. Today young men and women can train at the American College of the Building Arts with Joseph Kincannon.

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• The Socioeconomic study exploring the Immigration of Artisan Stone Carvers from Italy to the United States of America Circa 1830-1920, Russ Joseph Morris, The College of Staten Island
• John Evans (1847-1923) and Architectural Sculpture in Boston, Ann Clifford, 1992, Tufts University.
• The Architectural Record, July 1896
• The John Evans Company Divine Stone link
• The Irish imprint in American sculpture in the Capitol in the 19th and early 20th Century, The Capitol Dome, Volume 55, no 230, January 1, 2018
• New York Times, Obituary Section, July 2, 1947
• New York Preservation Archive Project
• Sculpture and the Federal Triangle, George Gurney, Smithsonian Institution, 1985.
• The Ardolinos Divine Stone Link
• American College of the Building Arts
• The Heritage Film Project – the Piccirillis