The Bethesda Terrace Arcade reopens after extensive renovation.

March 02, 2007

Located mid-Park at 72nd Street, the Arcade is a richly decorated component of Bethesda Terrace, and now the treasured Minton Tile ceiling has been preserved and reinstalled.  The tile panels were removed from the Arcade in the early 1980s and put into storage because their backing plates were severely corroded from water infiltration. To restore the tiles, the Conservancy employed a team of seven conservation technicians who cleaned and repaired about 14,000 original tiles by hand.  Only three panels were needed to replace badly damaged ones. 

The Arcade’s ceiling is made up of 15,876 elaborately patterned encaustic tiles, handmade by Minton and Company, a leading 19th century ceramic manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent, England.  The Conservancy commissioned Maw and Company, Minton’s successor, for the project.

“Now after more than 20 years out of the spotlight, the Arcade’s beautiful Minton tile ceiling is resplendent once again for generations of New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy,” says Conservancy President and Central Park Administrator Douglas Blonsky. “We are proud to have undertaken a preservation initiative of this magnitude.”

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