As a young journeyman stonemason I had an opportunity to work in Italy and
Greece
I like the way Travertine is used outdoors in Italy; no thin veneers and it
takes on a patina of classical tones. ...While...
White Greek Thassos is another beautiful stone used well outdoors everywhere
in Greece. Both are inappropriate for the northern Usa ; I have seen them
hold up better in Florida...but there the scale is all wrong ( thin) and the
humidity plays havoc with it ....I will echo Walters comments (I worked the
Chicago trib also) ; with this to add when choosing stone try and find
samples of how it will look 10 years from now ....stone salesmen are like
mule traders you have to look into the mouth to see what you are getting
...New York is full of bad stone sales. ....The old Colonna marble yards
supplied the travertine for Linclon Center in the early 60s it was the
last big stone job iin New York for almost 25 years......Travertine was
unused before then except in Lobbies ..... like Jackie O it (travertine)
was so sixties..on Linclon center it was so ... Roman.
The Queens Clonna yards closed after several mob rub outs The yards I think
are still there ; owned by Dr. Joan Eiffert who married the travertine king
of Italy whos name escapes me . Joan is a world expert on Travertine; and on
stone ...sadly she dosen't need the money so we don't ever hear from her.
Huge blocks of aged marble litter the grounds; the summer I was there we(
fellow stone masons from the cathedral) used the massive stone slurry pit as
a private swimming hole with the chili lights for moonlight swims
overlooking Manhattan
on the bank of the east river there was a huge cave overhang made of marble
blocks where we kept a row boat and worked on various cathedral
projecrts..The site is in holding to be made into an apartment complex if
not already done so Best Michael
--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
