Regional Awards
Rugo Stone Receives 2020 Grande Pinnacle Award
Located at the crossing of Wall Street and Broadway, Trinity Church is a historical structure that for 174 years has served New Yorkers as a place of worship. During 9/11 the church served as a shelter from the debris caused by the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower.
Trinity Church needed a variety of upgrades, including complete conservation and restoration of the Gothic Revival chancel and the historic Astor memorial altar.
Rugo Stone was selected to dismantle and conserve the Astor memorial altar based on extensive experience in stone and mosaic conservation and restoration. Their task was to carefully dismantle the marble and the mosaic which formed the altar. The mosaic panels, believed to have been created in the 1870s by acclaimed Italian mosaic artist Antonio Salviati, are considered priceless, as is the Vermont statuary marble altar.
Rugo Stone carefully cataloged the altar by 3D scanning it in place, and then dismantled and transported it to their carving studio. Over the next 6 months, artisans carefully cleaned and restored the damaged pieces, as well as produced new columns, hand-carved capitals, performed dutchman patches, and new gilding, all to create a new configuration for an ADA accessible altar mounted to a new steel frame.
The team also sourced new Caen French limestone to recreate rear wall missing pilasters and base, which was particularly challenging as the original Caen limestone was quarried in the 1860s. The chancel floor was completely re-done using Olympian White Danby and Rosso Levanto marble pavers with 1/32" joints, patterned to create a bold checkerboard appearance. Rugo Stone’s team worked tirelessly to complete all the work for the dedication services scheduled on Christmas 2019.
The full list of 2020 Pinnacle Award recipients is as follows:
Public Landscapes/Parks Memorials
- Fundidora Park Mural Monterrey, Mexico Creative Edge Master Shop Fairfield, IA
- Spring Creek Nature Area Richardson, TX Coldspring Cold Spring, MN
- Dee Brown Inc. Richardson, TX
Commercial Interior
- Hillsdale College Christ Chapel Hillsdale, MI Booms Stone Company Redford, MI
- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Expansion Hollywood, FL Twin Stone Designs & Installations Hollywood, FL Architectural Carving/Lettering/Sculpture
- John F. Kennedy Center, The REACH Donor Wall Washington, DC Rugo Stone Lorton, VA
- Nike of Samothrace Samothrace Island, Greece F.H.L.I. Kiriakidis Marbles-Granites Drama, Greece
Renovation/Restoration
- Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Paterson, NJ Ghirardi Stone Contracting New York, NY
- Trinity Church Wall Street Chancel & Altar Restoration New York, NY Rugo Stone Lorton, VA
- Dallas Municipal Building Restoration Dallas, TX Dee Brown Inc. Richardson, TX Tennessee Marble Company Friendsville, TN
Commercial Exterior
- Tenko Omakase Japanese Restaurant Bangkok, Thailand Stone and Roses International Samutprakarn, Thailand
- The Williams Inn Williamstown, MA Connecticut Stone Milford, CT Residential-Single Family
- The Floating Stair Toronto, ON Canada
- PICCO Engineering Concord ON Canada
- SoHo Townhouse New York, NY ABC Worldwide Stone Brooklyn, NY Villa Florence Downey, CA Carnevale & Lohr, Inc. Bell Gardens, CA
Submissions for the 2021 Pinnacle Awards are being accepted until July 20. Learn more at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/pinnacleawards.
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About the Natural Stone Institute
The Natural Stone Institute is a trade association representing every aspect of the natural stone industry. The current membership exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 nations. The association offers a wide array of technical and training resources, professional development opportunities, regulatory advocacy, and networking events. Two prominent publications—the Dimension Stone Design Manual and Building Stone Magazine—raise awareness within the natural stone industry and in the design community for best practices and uses of natural stone. Learn more at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org.
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