The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has completed a major restoration of its landmark building exterior, a project begun in March, 2002 and named 30 Lafayette Aveneu for Peter Jay Sharp, in whose honor The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation has recently pledged a $20 million gift to BAM, primarily for endowment.

BAM’s 1908 building at 30 Lafayette Avenue was designed by Herts and Tallant—premier theater architects of the period. Its eclectic Beaux Arts style is also seen in other Herts and Tallant designs in New York, including the Lyceum Theatre and the New Amsterdam Theatre (restored by Hugh Hardy in 1997). The BAM building features polychrome terra-cotta and is finished in light-colored brick. The main entrance opens on to Lafayette Avenue with five large double doors embellished with cherub figures. Five corresponding double-height windows extend across the second floor façade. Restoration will reclaim the original building’s elaborate terra-cotta cornice—composed of surprisingly brilliant colors and set with 22 full-sized lions’ heads. The BAM building lies within the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District—designated a New York City Landmark in 1978.

The restoration was designed and overseen by Hugh Hardy of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, with the preservation consultant Building Conservation Associates, the restoration project’s construction team comprised Macro Consultants, Greyhawk North America, Robert Silman & Associates, Graciano Corporation, Boston Valley Terra Cotta, David Kucera, Inc., Gil Studios, Restoration Management Services, and Miraclean Systems. Key elements of this $8.6 million capital project include restoration of the terra-cotta ornamentation, reconstruction of the 15-foot-tall parapet and cornice (removed for safety reasons almost 50 years ago), replacement of cracked brickwork and lintels, handicapped accessibility, partial roof replacement, refurbishment of stained-glass windows, cleaning of the façade, and enhanced exterior lighting, and signage. The addition, in 2005, of an undulating, 130-foot-long glass entrance canopy will complete the project.