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Stony Creek Granite to Adorn New Statue of Liberty Museum

Sean Kernan Photo

Inside the Stony Creek Quarry.

Stony Creek and Guilford’s variegated pink granite, the distinctive granite used for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, will soon return to Liberty Island for its next historic honor.

This time, the granite will adorn the exterior of a new Statue of Liberty Museum scheduled to open in 2019 alongside the Statute of Liberty. The Museum, which will include a theater, is designed to tell the story of Lady Liberty,” a universal symbol of freedom.

Sean Kernan Photo

The Museum project is a partnership between the National Parks Service and the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation. The Foundation will cover the costs of the Museum, which is expected to become a world class destination.

Darrell Petit, who is in charge of business development at the Stony Creek Quarry Corp, said in an interview he is honored that the Stony Creek quarry continues to make architectural history, especially at Liberty Island. He said approximately 5,000 cubic feet of Stony Creek Granite block will be used for the Museum project.

It is our most important project since the 1880s. It continues the legacy of incorporating our Stony Creek Granite for our historic national monuments and architecture projects,” he said of the unique granite, which contains specks of quartz and feldspar that sparkle in the sunlight.

Branford — Guilford Pedestal for the Statute of Liberty

The granite pedestal for the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886. John Beattie’s quarry in Guilford created the pink granite pedestal in 1884. Guilford and Branford have both claimed ownership for a variety of reasons. Carl Balestracci, the former first selectman of Guilford who has written about it, told an audience some years back, Guilford and Branford have always claimed the granite that holds Statute of Liberty, and one of the things that we have found is that we are both right.” Click here to read about it.

And if all goes according to schedule, the pink granite will make its return to Liberty Island, 133 years after the pedestal was formally dedicated. 

With Permission

Northwest Corner Building, Columbia University, New York.

Stony Creek granite was first quarried in 1858. Since then the pink granite has been used in countless projects, including New York’s Grand Central Terminal, New York’s Columbia University, Boston’s South Station, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; and Chifley Towers in Sydney, Australia. Closer to home, the Willoughby Wallace Library in Stony Creek, and the Connecticut Hospice on Double Beach Road in Branford are both constructed from Stony Creek granite, as is the 70-ton pedestal for the Torosaurus statue outside the Yale Peabody Museum. There’s been discussion of incorporating Stony Creek granite in the walkways and sign at the renovated Walsh Intermediate School. 

Petit said the granite will provide the exterior cladding for the new Statue of Liberty museum as well as exterior site work, including an elaborate stepped entranceway

It was an honor to work with the architects to make the project economically feasible and collaborate with them on the stone detailing,” he said. The Museum was designed by FXFowle Architects.

The Museum always wanted the same granite that was used for the Statue of Liberty pedestal.

And although there were unscrupulous efforts to substitute other granites (including foreign granite) for our local historic and sustainable Stony Creek Granite, in the end the client made the right choice,” Petit said. 

The Stony Creek Quarry Corporation is working in partnership with the North Carolina Granite Corporation in supplying the Stony Creek Granite for the museum.

Experienced Quarry Team at the Quarry

Sean Kernan Photo

A team of senior Quarry workers was engaged in the quarrying process for the Statute of Liberty museum project. They are the ones who transform the granite from its raw form into what its next life will be. Pictured here (L‑R) is Richard Atkinson, the quarry supervisor, who has been at the quarry for more than 35 years, Stacy Bandecchi, one of the industry’s few female quarriers, Foreman GT Hixon with more than 30 years experience, and Darrell Petit who has been with the Quarry since 1990. The team has been quarrying the Museum blocks since September, 2017.

Sean Kernan Photo

Tom Hixon quarrying

Here is Tom Hixon quarrying. 

Sean Kernan Photo

Typically the workers wire saw (drill under and around) a ledge or bench section of the granite formation to procure a block. Equipment varies from a traditional sledge hammer, splitting feathers and wedges, to a hand-held hammer drill to the more advanced technology of Italian-made Performa hydraulic drilling rigs or an Atlas Copco Quarry wire saw that can be positioned and then operated remotely with a computer motherboard.

The quarries that span the Branford/Guilford border have changed ownership over the years, and there were times when operations ceased. But the granite remains as resilient and enduring as when it was formed 600 million years ago. 

Key Collaborators

Petit said other key collaborators in the design and construction include ESI Design, Quennell Rothschild & Partners, Atelier Ten, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, Phelps Construction Group, and Back Brook Masonry, LLC.

The North Carolina Granite Company has over 125 years of experience including projects such as the recently completed monumental FDR Four Freedoms Park designed by Louis Kahn. It is located on southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City. 
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