Masonry Magazine August 1983 Page. 5
Ageless Terra Cotta
It lives once again in an era of rediscovery
The terra cotta which served as ornamental cladding on turn-of-the-century highrises has reached a critical moment. Many of the terra cotta buildings erected 60 to 90 years ago are at an age where they must receive extensive repair if they are to remain intact. But thanks to the skills of masonry craftsmen and contractors, the terra cotta rosettes, cherubs and other ornaments which bring decorative relief to urban skylines too frequently dominated by flat, plain facades will continue to delight the eyes of people of the 1980s and beyond.
Terra cotta, which means "baked earth" in Italian, first became popular in the United States around 1880, when architects began to specify it for building exteriors. Europeans had already been using it for decades in decorative reliefs set into brick or stone walls.
Terra cotta was appreciated by architects because it was fireproof, durable and low in cost. In addition, by virtue of its light weight and capability of being custom-molded and curved, terra cotta was seen to be perfect as cladding for the new American "skyscrapers." Its potential to be glazed in virtually any color provided an added aesthetic advantage. The lavish details that came about because of terra cotta's versatility in form and color are some of the elements which are being repaired and preserved with skill and care by mason contractors and craftsmen today.
The grand entrance of the Guaranty Building (formerly the Prudential Building) in Buffalo, N.Y., is currently under restoration. This terra cotta landmark was built in 1896 to the design of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler.
An example of the more whimsical features to be found in terra cotta are the 27 walrus heads recently restored, along with the rest of the facade, on the Arctic Building in Seattle, Wash. Constructed in 1916, the 10-story retail and office building abuts another structure and is clad in cream-colored terra cotta on two facades and stucco on the other. In addition to the walruses, extensive terra cotta reliefs ornament the ceiling and columns of the portico.
Completed in fall, 1982, the restoration work supervised by Pioneer Masonry Restoration Co. included repair and cleaning of the entire exterior. One of the more delicate tasks for the masonry craftsmen, according to George Lucker, business manager of Local 2, Seattle of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen (BAC), was replacing the tusks of the walruses, which had been removed for safety since the 1949 earthquake and later mysteriously disappeared.
The new 15-inch tusks, made of cast epoxy, were screwed into an existing socket beneath the walrus' whiskers by means of a threaded steel rod that projects from the upper end of the tusk. Additionally, the tusks were glued in place with non-shrink grout.
Each walrus head was fitted with a glass-reinforced
MASONRY-JULY/AUGUST, 1983 5