Historic Stone Mill’s Restoration Celebrated with Special Tours

On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18 and 19, Landmarks and Landscapes: History Tours at The New York Botanical Garden offered visitors behind-the-scenes access to the recently dedicated Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill, adjacent millrace and Bronx River, and surrounding landmarks, gardens and collections. The event was done in collaboration with The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

The 170-year-old Stone Mill, restored over the last two years with leadership funding from The Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust and The Amy P. Goldman Foundation, was built in 1840 by the Lorillard family and designated a New York City Landmark in 1966 and a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The Goldman Stone Mill is one of New York City’s most picturesque pre-Civil War industrial buildings.

The restoration project incorporates several “green infrastructure” features that, in support of the garden’s sustainability initiatives, will capture and clean storm water that flows from the Stone Mill landscape into the Bronx River, prevent erosion and stabilize the river shoreline.

Plantings feature native species, primarily northeast forest plants, throughout the restoration landscape, all surrounding a sycamore that has stppd near the Stone Mill since the mid-1800s. Herbaceous plants carpeting the slope frame views of the mill from the adjacent bridge and outward into the landscape from its interior locations and the terrace along the Bronx River.

The Stone Mill is available for meetings and social gatherings, and provides much-needed office space for horticulture curatorial staff. The LEED Silver-certified structure’s restoration maintains the mid-19th-century industrial character on the exterior while, equipping the three-floor interior with modern building systems.

Source: World-Wire