News
First Floor Lighting Restoration
The 150th Celebration was an amazing event, exemplifying the strength and character of our Society. One focal point of the celebration was that we were able to have it in our home, 1501 Sage Ave. We take tremendous pride in our house, however at 92 years old it’s starting to show its wear around the edges. During the event a former trustee, Bart Guttag ‘71, asked the House Manager Alex Frost ‘18 if there were any plans to repair the light fixtures on the main floor. Currently we have explored, and accurately priced, numerous repairs / upgrades to the building, including the main floor lighting.
Bart got the process started with a generous donation of replacement glass shades, which took care of part of our issues. At this point the Junior Membership, under the leadership of Dane Torres ‘18, asked how they could assist with the repairs of these lights. The Junior Membership is seeing the results successive strong pledge classes, a focus on making the House more efficient, and prudent spending decisions. Therefore the JM classes from 2017-2019 agreed to fund the $11,000 cost of renovating the main space (Trophy Hall, Dining Room, Living Room) lighting fixtures.
Savage Metal Restoration (www.savagemetalrestoration.com) of Austerlitz, New York was contracted to do the work. The fixtures came off of the House in early June, and were restored by a metal shop that specializes in this sort of restoration work. Whenever possible the goal of our repairs is the return the House to its original 1924 condition. A detailed report created by Mark Vince ’75 and the current HM Isaiah Stanley ’19 by researching our archives to enable accurate restoration. The remaining glass shades were purchased, new wiring, electrical assemblies and hardware were installed. At the end of the summer each fixture was returned, and professionally remounted on the house. Unfortunately for future brothers, the fixtures no longer need to be polished, since we had the brass sealed.
For members who joined since 1970, the Trophy Hall fixtures will look especially impressive. They’ve been restored to a condition that hasn’t been seen in decades. (LED lighting did replace the original incandescent bulbs.) Actually, all of the fixtures look amazing, I’m just partial to the ones in the Trophy Hall.
After years of work the Real Estate Officer’s team has created a global renovation plan for our home, and has identified multiple smaller projects that will be addressed as we approach the 100th year of 1501 Sage. I want to thank our concerned alumni and the Junior Membership for making this repair possible. Please come by RSE at some point and take a look around.
