newly created chicago athletic association building "drooping tip" cast plaster ceiling panels ready for installation

i managed to capture the early stages of fabrication and preparation for installation of the "drooping tip" ceiling panels during my visit last week. production of the intricately detailed and well made faithful reproductions (taken awhile back from a mold of an original surviving panel) has ramped up considerably. additionally, the 8th floor dining room, where the panels were originally installed when the building was constructed in 1893, is completely filled with an intricate web of scaffolding in preparation for installing the newly created panels.

it will certainly be nice to see the gothic ceiling panels reintroduced into this grand room containing a ceiling (for the time being) stripped of the originals that were found to be damaged - possibly from the installation of the false ceiling added sometime in the 1950's.

the earlier photographs taken (see earlier caa posts) of the "drooping tip" ceiling shortly after the false ceiling was removed, revealed a brilliantly colored polychromatic finish that was likely added sometime during the early 20th century - perhaps when each of the panels were retrofitted with incandescent lighting. from my understanding, the newly added panels will contain a white paint finish, which was believed to be the original paint scheme added during installation in 1893.

slowly but surely, the reinvented boutique hotel is beginning to take shape, especially with the preservation and/or rehabilitation of the building's historic elements, which will no doubt give the hotel its distinctive "character" when opened to the public.

afterthought: after further review of the "period" photo, it appears that every drooping tip was outfitted with a "barebulb" fixture, likely using an incandescent carbon "hairpin" filament. if so, the ceiling ornament shadows created by the glow of the filament would have been simply majestic! this would make sense if the ceiling was painted with a uniform "white wash" in order to further accentuate or create added dimension of the gothic ornament. i hope they attempt the same lighting configuration for the hotel.