Trinity Cathedral Burial Ground Restoration

8 MARCH/APRIL 2008&AS LD

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Of A Grave Concern

Of A Grave Concern

Client: Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh

Designer: Andropogon Associates Ltd., Philadelphia

Landscape Contractor: Eisler Landscapes, Prospect, Pa.

Gravestone Preservation: University of Pennsylvania Architectural Conservation Laboratory, Philadelphia

By K. SchipperBy K. Schipper

Copyright© 2008, Western Business Media

9as-ld.com &AS LD

As work began in earnest on assessing the burial stones, it became apparent that little had been done in recent years to make the spaceinviting (left). The team working on the old stones definitely experi-enced the not-too-glamorous side of historic preservation (right).(Photos courtesy Eric Pomaybo).

PITTSBURGH – The landscape designer called it

“an unlikely project.” The contractor described the setting as

“a little difficult.”

Both admit they’re not normally called in to reshape a

cemetery, and an historic one at that.

Still, Marita Roos, a principal with Philadelphia-based

Andropogon Associates Ltd., and G. Eric French, president

of Prospect, Pa.-based Eisler Landscapes, say they’re pleased

their firms are involved with this high-profile downtown proj-

ect that’s bringing a new look to Trinity Cathedral, the seat of

the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.


Last summer, work began on a $2 million cleaningand restoration project for the almost-140-year-old structure. The Rev. Canon Catherine Brall, provost of thecathedral, explains that portion of the makeover was several years in the making, and is being done for twovery important reasons.

“Pittsburgh is having its 250th anniversary this year,”Brall explains. “In addition, at Thanksgiving, ourEpiscopal diocese will observe the 250th anniversary ofthe first Protestant worship service held in Pittsburgh,which happened to be an Anglican service. We wanted tocelebrate in a big way.”

Starting in early June, a team of stone-restorationexperts began blasting away at more than a century’sworth of industrial soot – and revealing a nice, light,Pennsylvania sandstone under what many people hadassumed was a naturally black stone. At the same time,another type of stone restoration began taking place atground level.

Trinity sits on the site of Pittsburgh’s oldest cemetery;internments began there around the time of the AmericanRevolution, and continued just about until the cathedralwas finished in 1871. Initially considerably larger, theburial ground shrank in size over the years as bodies werereburied at other cemeteries and the ground converted tocommercial use.

Brall explains that, twice previously, the congregationhas availed itself of the services of the University ofPennsylvania’s Architectural Conservation Laboratory tohelp maintain that remaining grave markers of the burialground. (See “Mending the Markers,” page 12)

“The work started in 1990, and part of it was donethen,” the canon says. “Later, more funds were availableand another phase of the work was done.”

As church officials were planning for the restoration ofthe cathedral’s exterior, they received a separate bequestaimed at finishing the university’s preservation work.

“The donor had an interest in the historic burialground,” Brall says. “This should allow us to finish thework of restoring and preserving the burial grounds andstones as much as possible.

“We also decided to do grading and landscaping to thesite because sooty conditions have raised the ground levelanywhere from 4"-12". And, there have been drainage problems around the stones and around the building.”

HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARYRoos says the involvement of Andropogon on the

project is a direct result of the architectural conservationlab’s history on the site.

Several members of the firm help teach classes in thehistoric preservation department at Penn, and Frank G.Matero, the department head, suggested to church officials that they’d benefit from the assistance of a goodlandscape architect.

“He saw there would be a number of issues that need-ed to be addressed once the markers were preserved,”

says Roos. “Basically, he asked them what they wantedthe grounds to be.

“My partner, Carol Franklin, met with the people atthe cathedral and talked very eloquently about the capac-ity of the site to be a contemporary memorial, as well as apiece of history,” she says. “We also have quite a bit ofexpertise in urban historic-preservation projects.”

That combination of sensitivity to the old while creatinga new vision for the space seems to have sold the job, Roossays, and Andropogon was the only firm considered.

Roos, who grew up in Pittsburgh, seemed like thenatural choice to head up the job. She recalls walking bythe site as a child.

“I remember thinking, ‘Gee, that looks like an interesting place, but I’m not sure I can go in there,’” shesays. “It didn’t look particularly inviting.”

Even more forbidding: the street elevation had beenlowered, leaving the site about four-and-a-half feet abovethe sidewalk.

“Our first challenge was how to make this more welcoming to people who are just off the street,” she says.“Given that we couldn’t make many changes to theentrance, we felt that widening and curving the stepsusing some really nice materials is going to help a lot.”

Those “nice materials” are led by Pennsylvania bluestone. Roos says the preferred stone, with atan/lavender cast, sets off the Pennsylvania sandstone ofthe cathedral.

The bluestone is also incorporated into new spaces inthe graveyard, created with the help of the grading project. Because of the way the soils had settled and

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Looking down on the site, it’s easy to see the space’s potential – even with theburial markers taking up much of the green areas. (Photo courtesy Eric Pomaybo).


compacted around the stones, Roos says the old grave-yard wasn’t a nice place to walk.

“Because they were taking up the markers and thenwanted to put them back at their original elevations, wehad an opportunity to change the grades and at the sametime make sure the paths will all drain properly,” she says.“We can amend the soil to make it drain better, and put ingravel in places, as well as grading.”

Along with pathways around the burial area, Roos saysthe design also creates inviting spaces to lure people in.

“We’ve created little nooks for seating, and they’rearranged primarily for people who want to sit and read,”she says. “A couple might support conversation, but mostof it is just to be a place of respite, a calm green oasis inthe city.”

The most ambitious part of the project, from a designstandpoint is what Roos refers to as a commemorationcircle that will provide a space for small events – she men-tions wedding photos – and memorial activities.

“We’re making more of a space between the streetand the entrance to the church by arching the top part ofthe walkway around the paths,” Roos explains. “We’llhave overlooks on either side that are formed by new,small circle patterns. The stone is supporting all that, andI’ll be interested to see how they’ll use the space.”

A REAL CHALLENGEThe choice of Eisler to turn Andropogon’s designs into

reality came as the result of a restricted-bid process, accord-ing to both that company’s president and Rev. Canon Brall.

“We put out bids to companies based onAndropogon’s advice,” says Brall. “Our committee likedEisler. They’re very excited about the project and theywere willing to be flexible.”

She explains that flexibility was a must, since thelandscape contractor would be working in a very con-stricted space with the architectural conservationists andwith Young Restoration Company Inc., the firm cleaningthe cathedral.

Eisler’s French says the project is fairly typical of thelandscape work the firm does (it’s also expanded into gener-al contracting), but the setting made the job a real challenge.

“It’s in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh – a com-plete urban environment,” he says. “The project is alsoelevated above street level, and surrounded by a wrought-iron fence that’s more than 100 years old.”

French compares the job to painting a floor, whereyou start in a back corner and work your way out.

“We poured a concrete ramp on the church steps toget in and out of the site, we used slinger trucks to throwmaterial in, and boomed it in with a crane truck,” he says.

PITTSBURGH – While new Pennsylvania bluestone will improve theappearance of the Trinity Cathedral churchyard, the most-importantstones at the site are undergoing their own restoration.

Graduate students from the Architectural ConservationLaboratory at the University of Pennsylvania recently spent a thirdstint restoring and treating the gravestones in the cemetery adjacentto the cathedral.

Teresa Duff, the site supervisor for the project, explains that thepeople from the university first worked on the stones 18 years ago.

“The next conservation campaign was in 2001, and the treat-ments from 1990 were reexamined and reevaluated,” she explains.“This third – and final – campaign allows us to look at all the mark-ers and treat them all.”

The cemetery, which predates the cathedral, hasn’t been inactive use for more than 130 years, Duff says.

“The earliest marker dates back to approximately 1787, and thecemetery began to be used in the late 1700s,” she says. “Most of themarkers are from the 1800s, and the last burials were about 1870.Some of the markers have been replaced by families since then.”

Duff adds that there are approximately 150 markers at the site.She and her crew have been responsible for noting the location ofeach one, then excavating it and evaluating its condition.

“Once we do a condition assessment, we determine what treat-ment the stone needs,” she says. “Sometimes, if it’s in good condi-tion, it just needs a cleaning. We get the surface soil off it, and ifthere’s some soiling from atmospheric conditions, we’ll use an acidiccleaner on the stone.”

For stones that are not in such good condition, more seriousmeasures are taken.

“If a stone is in pieces, we’ll use epoxy to re-adhere the piecestogether, or we’ll use drilling and pinning,” Duff says. “There we’ll drillholes and use a polymer and a fiberglass or stainless steel pin. Wealso do injection epoxy for areas that are starting to delaminate andwe grout larger cracks.

“It’s done on a case-by-case basis, which makes it interestingand challenging, and it also helps keep history alive.”

All the work was done on-site and after each stone was treatedit was stored in a custom-made crate awaiting the completion of thelandscaping portion of the project later this year, at which point they’llbe reinstalled in their original locations.

– K. Schipper

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Mending the Markers

As each marker was liftedfrom its spot (above), carefulnotes were taken so it could be relocated correctly.Graduate students assessed,cleaned and repaired eachpiece (right), then storedthem in individual crates whilethe site was graded and otherlandscape work completed. (Photos courtesy Eric Pomaybo).


“There’s no parking, no place to stage anything, and wehad to get permits for everything.”

When it came time to grade the site, French saysexcess material was carried out on a skid steer, and all thework was done at night.

Another part of the project that was a little out of theordinary: dealing with the burial vaults the excavationturned up.

“We replaced all the vault lids on all the vaults weencountered,” he says. “These vaults have been sealed formore than 100 years, and we had to make sure their struc-tural integrity and the integrity of the lids was sufficient tolast another hundred years.”

French calls the masonry part of the job a key com-ponent. The bulk of the work involved random rectanglesof 2" non-gauged material, with an eye toward matchingthe church building. Some of it is mortar-set, with the restbeing sand-set.

“The high-traffic areas, such as the church steps andthe circle in front of the church, will be mortared,” saysFrench. “Any high-traffic areas will be mortared down.”

Eisler is also working with a local lighting contractorto run conduit for what will be a new lighting systemhighlighting the newly-cleaned cathedral and the newwalkways.

Work on cleaning the structure finished last fall, withthe hardscape completed before winter weather arrived.

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The project turned up many surprises, including revealing that the cathedral’sfaçade, which most people believed to be naturally black, was really a light-coloredPennsylvania sandstone. (Photo courtesy Eric Pomaybo).

Circle Reader Service No. 8


That will leave the final part of the job – replantingthe site – this spring. Andropogon’s Roos says she lookedto western Pennsylvania for her plant palette, althoughthe small size of the site offered some constraints.

“We’re putting some oaks along the front; they willfunction as elevated street trees,” she says. “We have anumber of flowering under-story trees. The cathedralfaces mainly north, and there’s quite a bit of shade, butthat gives us the opportunity to use bulbs and ferns andground cover.”

Although this is the first time Eisler and Andropogonhave worked together on a project, both French and Roosspeak highly of each other, and of the job.

“Andropogon has put together a design concept thateverybody’s working well with,” says French. “It’s a greatproject and it’s going to be a real asset to the city. Thechurch should be commended for making a big monetarycommitment to this.”

Both say the unique nature of the site has requiredplenty of field investment, and Roos praises Eisler forwhat she calls, “their capacity of imagination.”

“They suggested the platform for the marker-preser-vation work be built so it overlooks the street, and that’sa fantastic idea,” says Roos. “They’ve continued to makesuggestions on this project to move it forward, and I’mvery pleased with our interactions with them.”

Roos, too, praises the church – and the benefactor

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The presence of the burial stones wasn’t the only challenge this small, strangelyshaped space offered. Hardscape solutions included widening the stairs leading upto the cathedral and constructing a commemoration circle (lower left). (Renderingcourtesy Andropogon Associates Ltd.).

who provided the funding – for having the vision toimprove this small piece of ground.

“This is just an exceptional project,” she concludes. “It’srare to have anyone leave such a nice endowment to restorea piece of ground, and it’s especially wonderful because thisis in an urban place that’s been short-changed on this type ofthing. We really have a little urban park here.”

Circle Reader Service No. 10

Trinity Cathedral Burial Ground Restoration

Spiritual

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