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:: By Hassan Ali, '07
:: Photography by Dan Dry
Recast characters
Slowly crumbling in Rockefeller Chapel’s basement, a soot-covered Moses, Plato, and the archangel Michael lean against the walls. The 80-year-old plaster molds—models used to carve the limestone statues that adorn the church’s façade—are undergoing work to patch years of damage done by vandals and extreme temperatures. The Rockefeller staff was inspired to conserve the 70-some statues after spending time in the basement, where an interfaith center opened this past spring. Once repairs are complete, Rockefeller will showcase the cross-cultural figures in the center’s lobby. With funds from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial endowment, the statues will be restored a few at a time, says Lorraine Brochu, AM’88, assistant to the dean of the chapel. “Unless we get a huge hunk of money, it will take years.”
