Roosevelt Island Historical Society Visitors Center Kiosk Getting A Whole New Look - Stop By And Watch The Transformation

Image From Judith's Gallery

With the Tram out of service, there's not much reason for most Roosevelt Island residents to walk in the area of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) Visitor's Center Kiosk. So, here's a progress report on the Kiosk renovation from RIHS President Judy Berdy:

If you were walking around the island on Wednesday, you saw the contractor "raise the roof" on the visitor center kiosk. The old roof has been removed and the cupola (Square top) was removed intact.

The flat surface roofing material was copper and will be replaced by new copper and the cupola will be cleaned and restored to its original copper color.


The entire roof will be left to oxidize on its own. The new roof should be in place within a week.

Come by and watch the transformation of our ugly duckling kiosk into a showplace of restoration.
Soon the terra cotta will be completely cleaned and restored, all the trim removed, cleaned, primed and painted, a new interior floor, Guastavino ceiling cleaned and grouted. A new a/c and heating system is coming along with some other wonderful surprises. Stop by and peek in any day!

Our contractors love visitors (and they are great at giving out island information by now).

You can also check out the steady progress of the tram work, while you are in the neigborhood.

All of the images are from RIHS President Judy Berdy. More pictures of the RIHS Visitor's Center Kiosk roof removal are available here.

The Visitor's Kiosk opened in July 2007 (One of this blog's first posts - remember the caps?). The Main Street WIRE reported at the time:

... Originally, the kiosk was one of five visible entrances to the trolley car system, which transported New Yorkers over the Queensboro Bridge and back. Before the tram, F train, and the Roosevelt Island Bridge existed, trolley passengers would disembark on the Queensboro Bridge and access the Island, then known as Welfare Island, via a set of elevators from the lower level of the bridge. When the workers began digging the foundation for the kiosk, the first thing they hit was a thick stone elevator wall. They also found 1,000-pound elevator wheels, cables, pulleys and other debris. In all, it took seven full dumpster loads to excavate the site....