Northwest Pavilion, Belvedere Terrace

NORTHWEST PAVILION, BELVEDERE TERRACE, Central Park

New York, New York

Contributing Component of a National Historic Landmark District

Local Landmark

The Belvedere Castle was designed in 1869 by Olmsted and Vaux as an open-air folly within Central Park. The complex included the castle and three wood and cast iron pavilions. The castle had lain vacant for 30 years and was reopened in 1981 after an extensive restoration that in some respects only exacerbated the building’s demise. The original Northwest Pavilion was removed from the Park in the early 1900s. It was reconstructed in 1981, but had become a life safety hazard by 1994.

Barbara Campagna, with her previous firm Campagna & Russo Architects, was the architect for the restoration of the 1981 reconstruction. The Pavilion was rebuilt from the vergeboard down, due to the severe deterioration of the Southern Pine columns, some of which had been almost completely eaten away by a combination of fungal decay, mold, carpenter ants and beetles. The 17 columns were rebuilt to the original Vaux designs, but in glue-laminated jarrah, one of the most durable and sustainably harvested woods in the world. Low VOC paints were used to paint the structure, and new passive ventilation openings were designed for the crest of the roof.

Client: Central Park Conservancy

NY Times Article about the restoration of the Belvedere Castle.

The Northwest Pavilion before restoration.  Photographer, Justin Van Soest.

The columns of the Northwest Pavilion before restoration.  Photographer, Justin Van Soest.

Construction Drawings for restoration of Northwest Pavilion.

Northwest Pavilion after restoration.

Northwest Pavilion and Belvedere Terrace after restoration.

Northwest Pavilion columns after restoration.

Northwest Pavilion vergeboard and columns.

Northwest Pavilion vergeboard and tops of columns.

Northwest Pavilion vergeboard.

Northwest Pavilion and Belvedere Terrace overlooking Shakespeare Festival Theatre.

Northwest Pavilion and Belvedere Terrace after restoration.