Park Avenue Armory

Dedicated in 1880, the Seventh Regiment Armory was home to the Seventh New York Militia Regiment. Known for the highly detailed and ornate interior rooms, designed by leading designers and artisans of the American Aesthetic Movement: Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Pottier & Stymus and the Herter Brothers; the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission has called it “the single most important collection of 19th century interiors to survive intact in one building.”

As part of a $200 million restoration, FMS supported the architects in the restoration while incorporating a lighting system that both reveals the beauty of these historic interiors while providing flexibility for the wide array of art and music programs brought into the building. Our input has included both technical and aesthetic measures including reconditioning existing fixtures, and new interventions that bring new life and appreciation to the designers vision.

The Company Rooms originally illuminated by gaslight were extremely dark. Light levels and the placement of fixtures were key to the design of the restoration. FMS carefully positioned light fixtures to revitalize the rooms’ character, while reinstating and translating chandeliers with contemporary.