The dome of Weylin B. Seymour’s, formerly the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, under restoration | Photo courtesy of see. Painting
Update: Tickets are now SOLD OUT and will not be available for purchase at the door. For any questions regarding the event, please email Matt Ragazzo or call 212.753.1722 x10. For questions about ticket orders, please email Nicholas Anderson or call 212.753.1722 x14.
If you’ve taken a ride on the J/M/Z train over the Williamsburg Bridge between the Lower East Side and Williamsburg, you likely noticed a regal dome just to the west of the tracks as you descended in the Brooklyn. And over the past few years you may also have noted some gradual changes — graffiti removed, the dome lit. These are just small touches relative to the dramatic restoration of what was once the Williamsburgh Savings Bank into the event venue Weylin B. Seymour’s.
On September 20th, The Architectural League will hold this year’s Beaux Arts Ball at Weylin B. Seymour’s. The Ball is an annual event to benefit the League and its programs (including Urban Omnibus) that brings New York’s architecture, urbanism, and design communities together for one night to eat, drink, and dance in an architecturally significant space transformed by emerging designers for a one-night-only experience. Tickets are on sale now and going fast — check out photos from past balls to get a sense of what’s in store for the evening!
George B. Post competition drawing | Courtesy of Weylin B. Seymour’s
The theme of this year’s Ball is Craft, celebrating the importance of artisanship and the concert of allied disciplines in creating great works of architecture. The building’s interiors will serve as inspiration for nine architects and designers, who with Nuit Blanche New York will project digital interpretations of its motifs and details, celebrating the craft and art of architecture. Craft is well represented in the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank. Designed by George B. Post and Peter B. Wight in 1875, it features exquisite interior decorations of tiling and mosaics, patterned wallpapers, a frescoed dome, carved wood and stone, and bronze and gilt work in addition to its monumental exterior, earning the building designation as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
In anticipation of the event, and in keeping with the theme of Craft, the League released a 10-part feature with interviews with many of the artisans, specialists, architects, designers, and other key players in the restoration of this remarkable building: Carlos Perez San Martin, general manager of Weylin B. Seymour’s and project manager for the restoration; Michael Smart, materials conservation consultant; David Scott Parker, preservation architect; Sandra Spannan, decorative painting conservator and gilder; Stephen Bauer, wallpaper designer and manufacturer; Scott Holland, woodwork finishing and French polishing; Federico Rozo, graphic designer; Ernest Porcelli, stained glass artist; and Danilo Bonazza, mosaic artist. Also published was a brief history of the building and its design.
Beaux Arts Ball 2014: Craft
Saturday, September 20, 2014
9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Weylin B. Seymour’s
175 Broadway
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Projection installation created by Nuit Blanche New York (NBNY)
With content developed by 2×4, Aranda\Lasch, The Bittertang Farm, CASE, INABA, Jenny Sabin Studio, LAB at Rockwell Group, Norman Kelley, and PellOverton Architects
Music by pazel
Graphics by Pentagram
Drinks and dessert
Festive dress
#BAB14
A benefit for the programs of The Architectural League
In 1875, George B. Post and Peter B. Wight designed a Williamsburgh Savings Bank in Brooklyn with exquisite interior decorations of tiling and mosaics, patterned wallpapers, frescoed domes, carved wood and stone, and bronze and gilt work. After years of decay and decline, the building has been magnificently restored. Craft, the theme of this year’s Beaux Arts Ball, celebrates the importance of artisanship and the concert of allied disciplines in creating great works of architecture. The building’s interiors will serve as inspiration for nine architects and designers, who with Nuit Blanche New York will project digital interpretations of its motifs and details, celebrating the craft and art of architecture.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
