Architectural Metal Restoration in the Bronx

Metal Man Restoration restores architectural metalwork on Bronx landmark and historic buildings. We work on bronze plaques and memorials, ornamental ironwork, entrances, railings, cornices, and facades, handling cleaning, repair, fabrication, refinishing, and protective coatings under one roof. The borough holds some of the city’s earliest designated historic districts, and the work is planned around that from the start.

Bronx Architectural Metal We Restore

The Bronx building stock runs from Art Deco apartment houses to civic buildings and freestanding memorials. The work we are trusted with tends to fall into a few categories:

• Bronze plaques, memorials, and monuments on public sites and civic buildings
• Ornamental iron railings, balconies, and fences on prewar and Art Deco apartment houses
• Bronze and cast-metal entrances on institutional and civic buildings
• Cornices and architectural trim on historic exteriors
• Bronze doors and fixtures in houses of worship
• Storefront and lobby metal in brass, bronze, and cast iron

Many of these sit inside designated historic districts, which shapes how a project is planned and permitted. We confirm a building’s status early so the schedule accounts for it.

Metal Man’s Bronx Metal Restoration Work

In April 2008 the New York Yankees and Skanska Construction Corporation hired us to restore the bronze plaques honoring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, cast in the mid to late 1940s and displayed at Babe Ruth Plaza and the Bronx County Courthouse. Decades of paint and grime had buried them so completely that they were first mistaken for cast iron. Solid bronze sat underneath. We stripped the buildup without abrading the metal, made welding repairs, replaced the hardware with original-style brass, refinished to a statuary bronze, and sealed the finish with a protective clear coat. The full account is in our write-up of the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig plaque restoration.

That is the standard the borough’s institutions come to us for, and our client list includes the Bronx Zoo. When metalwork carries public memory, the goal is to recover it without leaving a mark of our own on it.

What Architectural Metal Restoration Includes

Every project starts with an on-site assessment of the metal, its condition, and its finish. From there we clean the surface, repair or fabricate any damaged or missing sections, and refinish the metal by polishing, plating, or building an appropriate patina, then seal it with a protective coating. For the full picture, see our architectural metal restoration overview and our guide to how bronze, brass, and copper restore differently.

Landmark and Preservation Requirements in the Bronx

The Bronx was home to the first historic district the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated in the borough, Mott Haven, back in 1969. Grand Concourse, Fieldston, Riverdale, Longwood, Clay Avenue, and Morris Avenue followed. Work that affects a landmark’s exterior or a designated interior can require a permit from the Commission before it begins. We are used to working within those requirements, and we help owners and architects confirm a building’s status and align the restoration with the applicable preservation standards.

Neighborhoods We Serve Across the Bronx

Along the Grand Concourse, the work is Art Deco lobby and entrance metal on some of the largest concentrations of that architecture anywhere in the country. In Mott Haven and Longwood, it is ornamental iron and cast-metal detail on nineteenth-century row houses. In Riverdale and Fieldston, it runs to gates, railings, and private residences. Around the civic buildings and public plazas, it is bronze plaques and memorials. The standard is the same everywhere: preserve the original, meet current requirements, and leave the metal better than we found it.

Common Questions About Architectural Metal Restoration in the Bronx

These are the questions Bronx building owners, boards, and architects ask us most before a project begins.

Have you worked on Bronx landmarks before?

Yes. The Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig plaques we restored for the New York Yankees and Skanska are displayed at Babe Ruth Plaza and the Bronx County Courthouse. Public and civic metalwork in the borough is a regular part of what we do.

Do you restore architectural metal on-site in the Bronx?

Often, yes. Large facades, railings, and fixed elements are restored on-site. Doors, gates, plaques, and smaller pieces usually come to our shop for a full restoration, then return to your Bronx building for reinstallation.

Can you tell what metal is under old paint?

Usually, and it is worth checking before anything is replaced. The Yankee plaques were assumed to be cast iron until we got the buildup off and found solid bronze underneath. Testing a small area first can change what a project is worth doing.

Can you fabricate missing or damaged sections?

Yes. When castings, sections, or ornamental details are missing or damaged beyond repair, our shop fabricates replacements to match the original, so the finished work reads as one continuous piece.

Which Bronx neighborhoods do you serve?

All of them, including Mott Haven, the Grand Concourse, Longwood, Morrisania, Riverdale, Fieldston, Belmont, Throgs Neck, and City Island. Our shop is in Mount Vernon, just north of the borough line, so the Bronx is a short trip for on-site work and pickups.

For work below the Harlem River, see architectural metal restoration in Manhattan.

Restore Your Bronx Building’s Metalwork

If your Bronx building has bronze, iron, or other architectural metal that needs restoration, trust the team the Yankees called for the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig plaques. Fill out the form below, or call (914) 662-4218, and let us bring your metalwork back to life.

Projects Like This

Real projects from our own shop and job sites. Every one of these is work we did ourselves.

Yankee Stadium Plaques In April 2008, the New York Yankees and Skanska Construction Corporation hired Metal Man Restoration to restore two... View the project Alexander Hamilton US Customs House In August 2009, the U.S. Government hired Metal Man Restoration to restore the exterior bronze gates at the front... View the project Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Paul Hempstead NY In March 2015, Metal Man Restoration was hired to restore the three front entranceways and light fixtures at the Greek... View the project

★★★★★

Being an interior designer in NYC for the past 10 years we have used metal man for all of our plating, finishing and metal restoration work. They have performed amazing work on light fixtures/door hardware/plumbing fixtures (changing fixtures from brass to either chrome or nickel finishes). We just...

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