Rafael Guastavino
Encyclopedia
Rafael Guastavino Moreno (Valencia, Spain, 1842 – Asheville, North Carolina
1908) was a Valencian
architect and builder, creator of the Guastavino tile
, a "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885. It is a technique for constructing robust, self-supporting arch
es and architectural vaults
using interlocking terracotta tile
s and layers of mortar
. Guastavino tile is found in some of New York's most prominent Beaux-Arts landmarks and in major buildings across the United States.
In 1881 he came to New York City from Barcelona
, with his nine year old youngest son Rafael III. In Spain he'd been an accomplished architect trained in Barcelona and a contemporary of Antoni Gaudi
. In the US his first major commission, in McKim, Mead, and White
's Boston Public Library
(1889), made him known to every major architect on the East Coast. His published drawings of interior decoration of the Spanish Renaissance style caught the eye of an architect, who asked him to submit a design for the planned New York Progress Club building. After forming a partnership with William Blodgett, he eventually (in 1890) was offered a construction position with George W. Vanderbilt to construct arches for the new mansion, Biltmore in Asheville, NC.
After working on the estate, he decided to build himself a home in the mountains of Black Mountain, NC in a 500 acre valley. His house, Rhododendron, had a vineyard, dairy, brick kiln, and more. This property is currently owned by Christmount Assembly, the conference center for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
. On the property there are still artifacts that can be visited including the kiln and chimney, a wine celler, beautiful old stone walls, and many smaller artifacts that have been found as modern buildings have been constructed.
He and his son (who shares his name) would eventually hold 24 patents. Their company, Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company, run by father then son, was incorporated in 1889 and executed its final contract in 1962.
Akoustolith
was one of several trade names used by Guastavino.
In 1900, New York architects Heins & LaFarge
hired Guastavino to help construct City Hall station
, the underground showpiece for the IRT
, the first part of the then-new New York City subway
. The station, although elegant, was never convenient or popular, and after it closed in 1945 it became a legendary abandoned Manhattan underground relic, the secret of subway buffs and urban spelunkers. Guastavino also installed the ceiling of the south arcade of the Manhattan Municipal Building
, which was constructed from 1907-1914.
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Literally hundreds of other major building projects incorporate the distinctive Tile Arch System. In Chicago, the central nave vaulting of Rockefeller Chapel
at the University of Chicago
uses 100,000 Guastavino tiles. In Boston Guastavino tiles are to be found in the Boston Public Library; in New York, in Grand Central Terminal
, Grant's Tomb
, Carnegie Hall
, the American Museum of Natural History
, Congregation Emanu-El of New York, and St. Bartolomew's Episcopal Church
on Park Avenue; and in Washington, DC in the U.S. Supreme Court building and the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Guastavino tiles form the domes of St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia)
, and in Union Station (Pittsburgh)
, the vaulting of the carriage turnaround is a Guastavino tile system. In Nebraska they are to be seen in the Nebraska State Capitol
.
Having experienced Ellis Island
as an incoming immigrant, in 1917 the younger Guastavino was commissioned to rebuild the ceiling of the Ellis Island Great Hall. The Guastavinos set 28,832 tiles into a self-supporting interlocking 56 feet (17.1 m)-high ceiling grid so durable and strong that during the restoration project of the 1980s, as many sources repeat the story, only 17 of those tiles needed replacing.
The largest dome created by the Guastavino Company was over the central crossing
for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
in New York: it is 100 ft (30.5 m) in diameter and 160 feet (48.8 m) high. This dome was intended to be a temporary structure, to be replaced by a high central tower. In 2009 this "temporary" fix had its 100th birthday. Guastavino received this contract in large part because of the much lower price he could quote because his system served as its own scaffolding. However, this was an extreme test of his system. The masons had to work from above, each day adding a few rows of tiles, and standing on the previous day's work to progress. At the edges, many layers of tile were laid, and the dome thins as it rises towards the center.
, which survive. In its Facebook page, Guastavino's claims "Guastavino's is one of New York City's premiere event spaces, located under the 59th st bridge in midtown Manhattan. It was designed by and named after the renowned Catalan architect, Rafael Guastavino." His son Rafael's Mediterranean villa (1912) built entirely of Guastavino tiles, still stands on Awixa Avenue, Bay Shore, Long Island
.
, Guastavino retired to Black Mountain
. The site of his estate is now Christmount, the conference and retreat center of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
. Ruins of the Guastavino Estate still stand, as well as a collection of Guastavino memorabilia in the Christmount library. In North Carolina his work is found in Duke Chapel
in Durham
, the Jefferson Standard Building
in Greensboro
, the Motley Memorial in Chapel Hill
and St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Wilmington
. He is buried in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville, which he designed in 1905.
at Columbia University
in New York City.
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
1908) was a Valencian
Valencian
Valencian is the traditional and official name of the Catalan language in the Valencian Community. There are dialectical differences from standard Catalan, and under the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua has been established as its regulator...
architect and builder, creator of the Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
, a "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885. It is a technique for constructing robust, self-supporting arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es and architectural vaults
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
using interlocking terracotta tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
s and layers of mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
. Guastavino tile is found in some of New York's most prominent Beaux-Arts landmarks and in major buildings across the United States.
Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company
Guastavino was an architect in his own right, but he is more important for his patented tiling system which is used in a huge number of architecturally important and famous buildings, which derive their flexibly vaulted spaces from his unique vaulting. Fame did not come to him because he served as a contractor and not the principal architect of most of these projects.In 1881 he came to New York City from Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, with his nine year old youngest son Rafael III. In Spain he'd been an accomplished architect trained in Barcelona and a contemporary of Antoni Gaudi
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
. In the US his first major commission, in McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm at the turn of the twentieth century and in the history of American architecture. The firm's founding partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White...
's Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
(1889), made him known to every major architect on the East Coast. His published drawings of interior decoration of the Spanish Renaissance style caught the eye of an architect, who asked him to submit a design for the planned New York Progress Club building. After forming a partnership with William Blodgett, he eventually (in 1890) was offered a construction position with George W. Vanderbilt to construct arches for the new mansion, Biltmore in Asheville, NC.
After working on the estate, he decided to build himself a home in the mountains of Black Mountain, NC in a 500 acre valley. His house, Rhododendron, had a vineyard, dairy, brick kiln, and more. This property is currently owned by Christmount Assembly, the conference center for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
. On the property there are still artifacts that can be visited including the kiln and chimney, a wine celler, beautiful old stone walls, and many smaller artifacts that have been found as modern buildings have been constructed.
He and his son (who shares his name) would eventually hold 24 patents. Their company, Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company, run by father then son, was incorporated in 1889 and executed its final contract in 1962.
Akoustolith
Akoustolith is a porous ceramic material resembling stone. It was used to limit acoustic reflection and noise in large vaulted ceilings. The most prevalent use was to aid speech intelligibility in cathedrals and churches prior to the widespread use of public address systems...
was one of several trade names used by Guastavino.
In 1900, New York architects Heins & LaFarge
Heins & LaFarge
The New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge, composed of Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge - the eldest son of the artist John LaFarge, famous especially for his stained glass panels - were responsible most notably for the original...
hired Guastavino to help construct City Hall station
City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
City Hall, also known as City Hall Loop, was the original southern terminal station of the first line of the New York City Subway, built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , named the "Manhattan Main Line", and now part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line...
, the underground showpiece for the IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the City in June 1940...
, the first part of the then-new New York City subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
. The station, although elegant, was never convenient or popular, and after it closed in 1945 it became a legendary abandoned Manhattan underground relic, the secret of subway buffs and urban spelunkers. Guastavino also installed the ceiling of the south arcade of the Manhattan Municipal Building
Manhattan Municipal Building
The Manhattan Municipal Building, at 1 Centre Street in New York City, is a 40-story building built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city's five boroughs. Construction began in 1907 and ended in 1914, marking the end of the City Beautiful...
, which was constructed from 1907-1914.
Rockefeller Chapel
Rockefeller Chapel is, by order, the tallest building on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It was meant by patron John D...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
uses 100,000 Guastavino tiles. In Boston Guastavino tiles are to be found in the Boston Public Library; in New York, in Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb
General Grant National Memorial , better known as Grant's Tomb, is a mausoleum containing the bodies of Ulysses S. Grant , American Civil War General and 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Dent Grant...
, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, Congregation Emanu-El of New York, and St. Bartolomew's Episcopal Church
Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York
St. Bartholomew's Church, commonly called St. Bart's, is a historic Episcopal parish founded in January 1835, and located on the east side of Park Avenue between 50th and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Former structures:...
on Park Avenue; and in Washington, DC in the U.S. Supreme Court building and the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Guastavino tiles form the domes of St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia)
St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia)
thumb|300px|St. Francis de Sales ChurchSt. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1890, is a Catholic church at 4625 Springfield Avenue in University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Its cornerstone laid in 1907, the Guastavino...
, and in Union Station (Pittsburgh)
Union Station (Pittsburgh)
Union Station is a historic train station at Grant Street and Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States.-History:Unlike many union stations built in the U.S...
, the vaulting of the carriage turnaround is a Guastavino tile system. In Nebraska they are to be seen in the Nebraska State Capitol
Nebraska State Capitol
The Nebraska State Capitol, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the house of the Nebraska Legislature and houses other offices of the government of the U.S. state of Nebraska....
.
Having experienced Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
as an incoming immigrant, in 1917 the younger Guastavino was commissioned to rebuild the ceiling of the Ellis Island Great Hall. The Guastavinos set 28,832 tiles into a self-supporting interlocking 56 feet (17.1 m)-high ceiling grid so durable and strong that during the restoration project of the 1980s, as many sources repeat the story, only 17 of those tiles needed replacing.
The largest dome created by the Guastavino Company was over the central crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
in New York: it is 100 ft (30.5 m) in diameter and 160 feet (48.8 m) high. This dome was intended to be a temporary structure, to be replaced by a high central tower. In 2009 this "temporary" fix had its 100th birthday. Guastavino received this contract in large part because of the much lower price he could quote because his system served as its own scaffolding. However, this was an extreme test of his system. The masons had to work from above, each day adding a few rows of tiles, and standing on the previous day's work to progress. At the edges, many layers of tile were laid, and the dome thins as it rises towards the center.
Guastavino as architect
Few structures designed and built by Guastavino alone have been identified. He was responsible for a series of rowhouses with unusual Moresque features on West 78th Street (121-131 known as the "red and whites"), in Manhattan's Upper West SideUpper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, which survive. In its Facebook page, Guastavino's claims "Guastavino's is one of New York City's premiere event spaces, located under the 59th st bridge in midtown Manhattan. It was designed by and named after the renowned Catalan architect, Rafael Guastavino." His son Rafael's Mediterranean villa (1912) built entirely of Guastavino tiles, still stands on Awixa Avenue, Bay Shore, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
.
Retirement in North Carolina
After working on a commission at the Biltmore EstateBiltmore Estate
Biltmore House is a Châteauesque-styled mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States, at and featuring 250 rooms...
, Guastavino retired to Black Mountain
Black Mountain, North Carolina
Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,511 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge range in the Southern Appalachians.-History:Black...
. The site of his estate is now Christmount, the conference and retreat center of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
. Ruins of the Guastavino Estate still stand, as well as a collection of Guastavino memorabilia in the Christmount library. In North Carolina his work is found in Duke Chapel
Duke Chapel
Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is an ecumenical Christian chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodist Church...
in Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, the Jefferson Standard Building
Jefferson Standard Building
The Jefferson Standard Building is a 233 ft skyscraper in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was completed in 1923 as the headquarters for Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. and has 18 floors...
in Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, the Motley Memorial in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
and St. Mary's Catholic Church
St. Mary Catholic Church (Wilmington, North Carolina)
Saint Mary Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the Diocese of Raleigh.-Architecture:Its historic main church is of the Spanish Baroque style. It was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, who is known for his work on the Biltmore Estate, Basilica...
in Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. He is buried in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville, which he designed in 1905.
Archival sources
The records and drawings of the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company are held by the Department of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts LibraryAvery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of twenty-five libraries in the Columbia University Library System and is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. It is the largest architecture library in the world...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City.
See also
- Guastavino tileGuastavino tileGuastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
- Catalan vaultCatalan vaultThe Catalan vault, also called the Catalan turn or Catalan arch or a timbrel vault, is a type of low arch made of plain bricks often used to make a structural floor surface...
- First Church of Christ, Scientist (Cambridge, Massachusetts)First Church of Christ, Scientist (Cambridge, Massachusetts)First Church of Christ, Scientist is an historic redbrick 6-story domed Christian Science church building located at 13 Waterhouse Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed in 1917 by church member Giles M...
External links
- Guastavino Vaulting, The Art of Structural Tile: presents the Guastavino story.
- Guastavino.net: documenting Guastavino's work in the Boston area. This page provides copies of writings and patents by the Guastavinos as well.
- Collection of articles about the Guastavinos
- "Rafael Guastavino, architect and builder"
- Rafaelguastavino.com: documenting Guastavino's work in New York City
- Guastavino's, the "event space" in Manhattan.