Top row, L to R: E 14^th Street and Irving Place, then and now. Bottom row, L to R: 1411 Broadway, then and now.

HBO’s The Gilded Age—the NYC equivalent of Downton Abbey—dramatizes the “opera war” of the early 1880s, when nouveau riche families who were shut out of the old-money social circle of the Academy of Music established the rival Metropolitan Opera House.

But if you fancy a night out at one of these historic venues, you’ll need a time machine…

That’s because the Academy (once housed at East 14^th Street and Irving Place) and the “Old Met” (originally at 1411 Broadway) are both lost to history.

Time travel (and costume drama) aside, SUPERSTRUCTURES has worked to restore the buildings that replaced both Gilded Age structures. Coincidence? Perhaps, although the firm has worked on so many projects over its 40-year history, the pairing isn’t surprising.

The Consolidated Edison (ConEd) Headquarters, which supplanted the Academy of Music building, is a New York City Landmark designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh in 1911, with later additions by Hardenbergh and Warren & Wetmore. SUPERSTRUCTURES’ role in the restoration of the building received the 2022 Project of the Year Award from the NY Chapter of the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI). We provided investigation, design, and construction administration services to restore its limestone, granite, brick masonry, stucco, copper, and bronze facade.

The Old Met was razed in 1967, replaced in 1970 by a 42-story office tower designed by Irwin S. Chanin. SUPERSTRUCTURES conducted restoration of the building’s concrete and glass curtain wall.

Our work restoring New York’s buildings and infrastructure gives us insight into the many changes that mark the city’s dynamic, 400-year history. This experience recalls the adage that might be applied to many blocks in Manhattan: the only constant is change.