The Metropolitan Club, designed by McKim, Mead & White, is a renowned NYC landmark. Designed under the leadership of Stanford White, and built between 1891-1894, it is a classic example of “Gilded Age” architecture.
Beginning in 1996, Acheson Doyle Partners was engaged to study the feasibility of building a new member’s rooftop dining room and an expanded inventory of guest suites, as well as renovate the existing 45 guest rooms. In a detailed code and program analysis, it became clear that upgraded fire stairs and a new vertical transportation core would also be required. In 1996 and 1998, two phases of construction were completed that brought the existing guest room floors and the "annex" building up to the standards of other prominent New York City membership clubs. The next phase of the upgrade program included the design of the rooftop dining room and a kitchen facility, as well as a side yard addition to house new elevators, new egress stairs and storage facilities. Historical research done by ADP indicated that Stanford White considered a rooftop dining room in the early design stages but did not pursue it due to technical challenges. ADP shepherded the proposal for successful approval through the local Community Board, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District and finally to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The rooftop dining room, kitchen facility and side yard addition were designed and constructed from 2000 to 2007. Concurrently, several exterior restoration projects were undertaken. The facade’s white Tuckahoe marble was cleaned and restored. The historic gate at the 60th street entrance was stripped and repainted, and one of the monolithic 16-foot-high columns at the Porte-Cochere was replaced. The existing rooftop copper cornice was restored in place at the same time as the copper cladding of the rooftop addition was constructed.
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