PAFA to start sprucing up, inside and out

Installation of scaffolding began Monday in preparation for repairs to the roof, skylights, gutters, and stone facade of the Frank Furness-designed Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts building on North Broad Street.

Academy officials said that slate on the mansard roof of the 1876 National Historic Landmark needed replacement, and that deteriorating flat roof surfaces, skylights, and gutters also needed repair.

Some leakage into the interior has occurred, leading to plaster ceiling damage above the central stairwell.

No art has been affected by leakage, officials said.

Academy president and chief executive David R. Brigham said the problems emerged during the particularly icy winter of 2013-14. Last winter did not bring a recurrence of leakage, he said, but the academy wanted to move forward with a comprehensive solution to potential roof and water problems.

At the same time, extensive cleaning and refurbishment of the building's stone work will take place, largely in the upper reaches of the tripartite east facade, where there has been some deterioration.

The entire project will cost about $1.5 million, Brigham said.

The outside work, which has been given preliminary approval by the Philadelphia Historical Commission, should be completed by late August, Brigham said, before academy students return to school after summer break.

Museumgoers will be able to visit the building during the repairs and renovations, although there will be some noise attendant to the refurbishment, according to officials.

What Brigham called cosmetic damage to the interior ceiling probably will be undertaken shortly after the beginning of next year. That work will most likely cause the museum to close for about a month because scaffolding will fill the entrance areas.

The Furness building was completely renovated in 1976, and there have been some notable refurbishments since, most recently in 2010, when the rose window in the east facade was dismantled, cleaned, and repaired.

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