Restoring the Harlem Fire Watchtower: Four Questions with Charles Van Winckle
Charles Van Winckle walking down the watchtower’s spiral staircase.
The Fire Watchtower at Marcus Garvey Park is a beloved local landmark and a truly unique structure. When the Harlem community successfully rallied to save the site and advocate for its restoration, the city brought on Thornton Tomasetti to lead the effort. We reached out to Thornton Tomasetti Vice President Charles Van Winckle to get some firsthand insight into the process of bringing this landmark of historic engineering back to life.
The Fire Watchtower at Marcus Garvey Park is beloved by local residents, and that community support was integral to saving it. How did Thornton Tomasetti first get involved in the project, and what was your experience like working with community stakeholders?
A historic postcard featuring the Harlem Fire Watchtower, showing its original context within the park.
Thornton Tomasetti was retained in 2005. The project was dormant from 2009 to 2015. During the design process, the community supported the project at every step: the Community Board 11 meeting and the Landmarks Commission public hearing. During construction, members of the community would regularly update the watchtower’s Facebook page with construction progress with enthusiastic comments. TT’s website and GothamToGo.com were cross-linking each other’s sites for added updates. This was unlike any other project we have ever been involved with.
Because this is such an unusual structure, were there any challenges unique to this particular restoration?
To make the modern interventions – structural bracing, security screens, and floor gratings – as unobtrusive and harmonious as possible. Also to modify the 1930s plaza to recall the 1850s setting that created the original sense of place.
Now that the Fire Watchtower has been restored, do you think the way the public interacts with it will be any different?
An up close look at the watchtower’s bell. When fire fighters used the tower to keep watch over the community, they would ring this bell to alert the local fire company if they spotted a fire. After being restored, the bell still works!
It’s now completely reintegrated with the community. It’s a visible monument that looks out over Harlem. It’s accessible as a viewing platform and a lawn area for people to occupy.
Do you have any other highlights from this project you’d like to share?
The 5,000-pound bronze bell from 1865 that was cast by E.A & G.R. Meneely Founders in West Troy NY. It was too large to repair in the US and had to be shipped to one of Europe’s oldest foundries in the Netherlands for brazing.
This interview is part of our series celebrating the 2020 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners. You can find all the posts in this series by clicking here.