Local 2 New York Receives Praise for Work on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

On August 2, 2004, Local 2 NY members finished restoring the Cathedral’s North Tower. Setting the base of the cross in place from left are members Jason Muscanell and Steve Boyle.

For three years now, pedestrians on Eagle Street and Madison Avenue have observed as Local 2 New York stonecutters, carvers, and setters revitalized a treasured landmark and spiritual center, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

“The work on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a great opportunity,” says Local 2 President Al Catalano. “The Albany Diocese, Father Pape, and the contractor, Western Building and Restoration, continue to provide the conditions that allow Union stone setters to raise the standards of all masonry.”

The stone setting and carving crew for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, NY. Front row, from left: Local 2 NY members Jason Muscanell, Robert Pearo, and Steve Boyle. Back row, from left: Local 2 President Al Catalano, members Mike Ciccarelli, Tracy Reese, David Graves, Frank Wagner, Tom Keays, Mike Linehan, and Anthony Brucculeri. Not pictured: member Mark Colfer.

In 1848, Irish architect Patrick C. Keeley selected Portland Brownstone from the Connecticut River Valley to build the Albany Cathedral. Unfortunately, the sandstone was improperly installed, causing water to seep between the stone layers.

Local 2 apprentices Jason Muscanell, left, and Robert Pearo.	Members Anthony Brucculeri, right, and Michael Ciccarelli.

This, coupled with more than a century of harsh Northeastern winter freeze-thaw cycles, caused the stone to delaminate and exfoliate over time.

From left, superintendent David Graves, member Mike Ciccarelli, Father Pape, and member Anthony Brucculeri set the cross in place.

Jason Muscanell and Robert Pearo, both apprentices, cut new stone for the clock tower.

In 1997, the Albany architectural firm Mesick, Cohen, Wilson & Baker Architects, LLP was hired to oversee the restoration of the exterior. A detailed evaluation of the structure revealed a significant amount of weathering and deterioration.

Larry Wilson, a partner in the firm, explains, “Sandstone is formed by the deposition of sand and other minerals in horizontal beds. If the stone is quarried and set in a manner where its natural bed orientation is placed vertically, natural failure planes are created, vulnerable to accelerated weathering. The result is exfoliating stone exacerbated by saturation and freeze-thaw cycling.”

In 1999, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard launched a far-reaching fundraising campaign to carry out the restoration. Finding a comparable Brownstone material was the next challenge the restoration team faced. The quarry for the original stone was unable to fill the hefty quantities needed for the job. After much research, a good match for the Cathedral’s face was found in English Sandstone from St. Bee’s in Cumbria, United Kingdom.

Members Jason Muscanell, left, and Steve Boyle as they carve the members’ names into the base of the cross.

The cross base, which tops the Cathedral’s North Tower, showcases names of members who worked on the project.

Father Pape helps cement the base of the cross in place with the ceremonial trowel.

Members geared up for the job by attending IMI’s stone training and cross-training programs for PCC members at the National Training Center in Maryland. By fall 2001, Local 2 stonemason Steve Boyle and apprentices Jason Muscanell and Robert Pearo were on the job. A stone shop was placed onsite where members, employed by Western Building and Restoration, cut and carved the stone under the direction of superintendent David Graves. The success of the stone cutting onsite led to the decision to replace the original wood tracery of the clock with stone. On August 2, 2004, after working arduously on the project for nearly three years and over 36,000 hours, Local 2 NY members were able to witness the fruits of their labor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception’s Cross Raising. This ceremony marked the culmination of the first phase of the project – the restoration of the North Tower. The Cross raised is an exact replica of the Cathedral’s original.

The anticipated 15-year project includes plans to dismantle and replace the Cathedral towers’ stone façade, roofs, sacristies, interior plaster, westside clerestories, and parapets. The Diocese raised more than $6 million for the first phase of the project, but the completed project is estimated to cost more than $16 million.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the third oldest functioning cathedral in the United States and is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Originally inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the Albany Cathedral celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2002.

Local 2 NY members and Father Pape at the Cross Raising ceremony in Albany, NY on August 2, 2004.