More →]]> Known for its substantial collection of Asian and Egyptian art, The Cleveland Museum of Art is nestled into the east side of the city in the Wade Park District.

In 1913, three prominent Cleveland residents, Hinman Hurlbut, John Huntington and Horace Kelley, bestowed an endowment of $750 million dollars to build the museum, all with the intention of keeping admission to the public free.

The centerpiece in the middle of the 75-acre Wade Park was built at a cost of $1.25 million dollars and designed by Hubbell & Benes. The white, neoclassical-style Georgian marble building provides great contrast with the stunning green from the park.

Over the years the museum has had many renovations and additions. In 1971, it was expanded to hold another wing. Marcel Breuer used two-toned granite in his design to break away from the original neoclassical style. In 1983, a library was built to house nine new galleries for all the art.

But the most comprehensive expansion of all is the one of the future. In 2005, the museum’s “Building for the future” project became the most expensive cultural project in Ohio’s history at $350 million. The project brought new east and west wings to the museum property as well as an atrium courtyard under a glass canopy.

Today the Cleveland museum has landed a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. With the help of the Ohio Art Council, the museum is still able to operate under free admission for everyone.

Art is timeless, and as the operators said on the museum’s opening day in 1916, it’s “for the benefit of all people, forever.”

BirdMaster is proud to support the arts and we’re happy to protect the museum from damage as long as it stands!

More →]]> Jamaica Station that is!

When we think New York City, we think of it as the center of the United States. Easily one of the most populated cities in America, it’s the heart of our country, and with so many people in and out of the city everyday, it’s a wonder anyone can keep up at all!

Jamaica Station works around the clock to provide city dwellers and tourists alike with transportation to every inch of the city. Part of the Long Island Rail Road system, the station is one of the busiest in the country serving over 200,000 passengers daily.

Originally, the station was designed by Kenneth M. Murchison and it was expanded from 1912 through 1913 to accommodate more people.

The station was given a $387 million renovation in 2006, and the project had a passenger-oriented goal in mind to developed new platforms and a pedestrian bridge, also known as Westerly Bridge, to become a part of the AirTrain JFK service.

The AirTrain connects the big apple with the rest of us! Direct routes with the John F. Kennedy International Airport through the AirTrain JFK service allow passengers to board flights all over the world!

The entire station includes five platforms, with one island platform used as the AirTrain Station sectioned off by enclosed glass. Unique doors before the railways prevent passengers from accessing the train until sensors have detected its position on the track. This way, the train never has to have a driver- it operates automatically!

Last year, 6.5 million passengers used the service. And that’s likely to increase in the years to come!

With so many people occupying the terminals on a daily basis, its imperative that its architecture last a lifetime! BirdMaster prides itself on helping to preserve the foundation of what will become a national landmark and important piece of history!

More →]]> It’s the eighth largest church in the world, the largest Catholic church in the United States and the tallest habitable building in Washington D.C.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has been standing proud since it opened in 1959.

Believe it or not, the Basilica’s dome is only 7 feet, making it smaller than the dome of the United States Capital. But its size doesn’t take away from its beauty.

With medieval inspiration, the church was built heavily with masonry walls and columns instead of steel and concrete. The blueprints were designed in order to hold 6,000 people and include some modern amenities.

In all, there are 70 chapels. The Basilica uses art and sacred images on the sides of the church to achieve a Romanesque-Byzantine look. Each arch outside is lined with Pewabic Pottery tile and ceramic medallions on the ceiling, and sitting inside are 14 stations of the cross for the crypt.

Now, if that isn’t impressive!

Inside, the architecture features a Greek style with mosaics to decorate the domes. Some say, it even reminds them of the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, Italy!

A church this elegant is sure to throw a fantastic party! Maybe you’ve even seen it?

Last year, they held a publicly televised Thanksgiving Mass!

BirdMaster loves a good celebration, so we’ll continue to preserve this landmark and keep it rockin’!

More →]]> It all started with the Centennial Exhibition in 1876.  As America’s first World Fair, Memorial Hall was built for visitors to relish in art from around the globe.

Memorial Hall became a permanent fixture in Philadelphia and today it’s the main building on the campus of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The new museum featured a school of industrial art, which provided classes to train craftsmen in drawing, painting, designing and more.

It wasn’t long before donations started pouring in with collections of furniture, jewelry, glass, ceramics and more. With the growing collection, the museum was renovated and expanded in 1907.

As it stands today, completed in 1928, the columns on the front are made from Minnesota dolomite. The eight pediments on the building were supposed to be decorated with different sculpture groups, however the only one ever completed was by C. Paul Jennewein, Western Civilization. Greek deities and mythical figures were sculpted in polychrome into the structure.

The architecture also dons a series of bronze griffins, which has become the museum’s symbol over the years. Fans of the institution nicknamed the building, the Parthenon on the Parkway for all the way its reminiscent of Greek culture.

Aside from its noteworthy art collections and architecture, you might recognize the museum in the epic scene of Rocky- because those are the famous steps!

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has long held cultural history on its walls and each piece has been thoughtfully preserved. With BirdMaster, the museum’s architecture will be preserved for years to come!

]]> https://birdmaster.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1050 1 https://birdmaster.com/blog/?p=1041 https://birdmaster.com/blog/?p=1041#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:12:23 +0000 http://birdmaster.com/blog/?p=1041

More →]]> The best part about the holidays are decorations! Trees, windows, streets… and even landmark buildings!

Each year in December we see those awe-inspiring historical buildings beautifully decorated. But if it wasn’t for BirdMaster’s contribution, those picturesque views might not even be there! After all, protecting our nation’s landmarks from the effects of bird guano is BirdMaster’s main focus. Its acid nature deteriorates a buildings structure and causes permanent damages.

We are proud to say that some of the places we helped to protect are looking pretty festive for the holidays!

Providence, Rhode Island City Hall

United States Capitol Building

Statue of Liberty

Washington D.C. Metro Station

Pretty nice, huh?

Send us a picture of your favorite place decorated for Christmas! We’d love to see!

More →]]> After a devastating earthquake 25 years ago that ruined a section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the bridge has finally been restored. But it seems that the old bridge section, won’t be demolished anytime soon.

The old section is filled with 800 double-breasted cormorants that have nested there and have made it obvious they would rather not relocate. City officials have spent time with decoys, bird recordings and even built special manmade nests underneath the new bridge section to try to lure to the birds over.

But taxpayers are not happy about it. It’s estimated that they’ve already spent $33 million to try to relocate the birds- a very difficult feat, especially after they’ve settled!

It’s likely that the bridge will stay in place long past February as well, because demolition of the bridge section will be halted when the birds start laying eggs. Officials are planning to have the Bay Bridge finished by 2018 if they can relocate the birds.

The city is also thinking about installing bird control netting so the avian population doesn’t increase any more than it already has.

“If we don’t do this our penalties could far exceed the cost, so we’re in a balancing act,” said Leah Robinson, a spokesperson of the California Department of Transportation.

Since cities are developing fast, there is a constant problem with finding natural nesting sites, and transportation bridges are becoming a prime option for birds. They love bridges because it provides reliable food sources and protection from predators.

The San Francisco bridge is currently home to 533 nests and by demolishing the bridge, the nests would be destroyed too, leaving those protected birds without a home.

It is important that nesting on manmade structures, such as this, do not take place, so prevention is key! Birds are better suited in their natural habitats and time and money are needed to relocate the birds without harm.

BirdMaster safely protects architecture and bridges from pest birds and gives them a chance to remain in nature!

More →]]> Looking out over the ocean from San Francisco Bay, you can see the span of Alcatraz Island.  But it’s nothing like what you may have seen in the movies.

In the years since its discovery, the island has been home to a number of different uses but now the island and its buildings are preserved with daily historical tours.

Discovered in 1775 by Juan Manuel de Ayala, the island was named after the Spanish world for pelicans, or alcatraze- since the island was flocked with the bird species. The Americanized version of Alcatraz stuck after.

Julian Workman was the first recorded owner of the island and in June of 1846 built a lighthouse on it. But Workman didn’t hold claim to the island for long, since in that same year, John C. Fremont bought the island for $5,000 dollars under the U.S. government for it to take shape as a military reservation.

Since it’s primary location to gold sparked interest by several other countries, President Fillmore made sure to turn the island into a base for military who were prepared to fight.  In 1853, construction of Fortress Alcatraz began to take shape with bricks and stone and circled around the island. Inside the walls, columnbiads were added in the north, south and west locations of the fort to provide easy gunfire at enemy ships. Inside stood the brick citadel behind a drawbridge mote with a lot of its granite shipped from China.

With the need for a military base dying down after the Civil War, the island began to transform into a prison. Between 1870 and 1876, brick jailhouses were built on the island to hold up to 450 prisoners with several dungeons below the ground. After the Spanish-American War, in 1933, it became a federal prison to hold troubling inmates from other prisons. The island was a perfect sanctuary due to its isolation. The prison is famous for holding some of the most notorious criminals in history, namely, Al Capone.  However, due to high cost and eroded buildings, thanks to salt water saturation, the prison was shutdown in 1963.

From there the island was occupied by Native Americans claiming rightful ownership to the island and looking to use it for an Indian education center. Over the course of their time there, many buildings suffered from fire damage and there is still some visible graffiti seen there today.

Currently, the island is set up for tours rich in its history. Visitor’s can walk around self-guided or wait for a guide to trail them around the island. Throughout your time on Alcatraz there are also several programs you can participate in for educational purposes.

Alcatraz has 19 landmarks and buildings spanned out over 22 acres, and it’s an essential part of American history, which is always worth preserving.

BirdMaster understands the importance of protecting historical landmarks and is a proud half of a successful partnership in helping safeguard the architecture of the island and the legacy of Alcatraz for years to come.