Union League gets $12M in renovations

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Ballroom before the renovations and new ceiling.?

The Union League of Philadelphia has nearly completed a $12 million renovation to several rooms ? one of which was the Lincoln Ballroom where a new $600,000 ceiling originally designed by Horace Trumbauer has been installed.

The Union League, located on South Broad Street in Center City, began the project Jan. 1, 2012. It entailed renovating the ballroom, the main kitchen and creating a chef?s demonstration kitchen as well as a wine tasting room and cellar. In all, 33,615 square feet was worked on. Eric M. Rahe of BLT Architects was the person in charge of the project. Eberlein Design Consultants was the interior designer for the ballroom. What made the ballroom project so special is that drawings made by Trumbauer, the building?s original architect, were used to design what would have been the original decorative ceiling that was never installed until now.

Though the sketches were in black and white, they were detailed enough so that Rahe and his team could work from them and adapt the vision to the room, he said.

?We didn?t change the ceiling but we added a ceiling that was never built,? Rahe said. An original chandelier, which dates back to 1888, was cleaned and 3,000 cracked crystals were replaced.

?It looks the way it should have looked,? said Jeffrey P. McFadden, general manager of the Union League, looking over the ballroom from a balcony.

The main kitchen received a major overhaul. While new equipment was installed and separate rooms for specialized preparation areas such as a butcher shop, baked goods and a chilled room were added, one of the main additions is that it is now air conditioned. A new demonstration kitchen was also created for events and classes. A wine tasting room was carved out and what was the original cigar vault is being turned into a wine cellar for 4,000 bottles, or 10-year supply of wine. That way any just about any vintage will be served at its peak.

Work is expected to be finished next month.

Real Estate, Economic Development

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