CORTE MADERA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RH (Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc.) (NYSE:RH) announced today the opening of RH Greenwich, The Gallery at the Historic Post Office on Friday, May 16, 2014, at 310 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. After years of planning and preservation to honor its singular place in the town’s cultural landscape, the building’s exterior has been completely restored, while the interior has been reimagined and a second story conservatory and rooftop park has been added. The loading dock that fronted Greenwich Avenue has been transformed into a beautiful garden courtyard and grand entrance. The new space will serve as an architectural canvas for artistic installations of home furnishings in a gallery setting. Encompassing nearly 23,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, the gallery was imagined to inspire new and evolving ways to design a home.
“Great architecture is at the core of our design ethos,” says RH Chairman and CEO, Gary Friedman. “Our vision is to reclaim and restore the building’s original design, and then reimagine the space, making it once again relevant and inspiring to the community.”
The transformation marks Friedman’s continued collaboration with design architect James Gillam of Backen, Gillam & Kroeger, a firm recognized as one of Architectural Digest’s Top 100 Architect and design firms in the world.
The storied neoclassical building, completed in 1917, is in the heart of Greenwich Avenue’s Historic District – a social magnet and hub of commerce in its day. A 50-foot obelisk was later erected as a World War I memorial and remains the visual apex of a triangular park that faces the building’s main entry.
Upon arrival, guests will encounter the landmark’s distinctive radiating plan. Its main facade is defined by a sweeping concave arch, decorative balustrade and a classical loggia, supported by six grand 19-foot limestone columns topped by hand-carved Corinthian capitals. As visitors pass through the stately main entrance complete with five sets of French doors, they will admire the loggia’s three original pendants of glass and cast iron suspended overhead – each of which has been fully restored.
Throughout the main floor, guests will enjoy a classical arrangement of rooms that has been designed to harmonize with the radiating architecture and highlight the dramatic 15-foot windows surrounding the building.
After traversing the forecourt, visitors will ascend a grand double staircase with custom-designed iron handrails inspired by the late Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. Punctuating the journey will be a Dammann Frères Tea Atelier and early maps of iconic cities around the world along with vintage clocks set to their corresponding time zones. Nine oversized birdcage chandeliers suspended by weathered rope and natural light emanating from a skylight soaring nearly 40 feet above will illuminate the way.
On the newly constructed second floor, visitors will encounter a dramatic conservatory and rooftop park invisible from street level in order to maintain the exterior’s architectural integrity. Defining the main room will be a linear skylight spanning the full 75-foot length of the ceiling. French doors opening onto European garden terraces will reveal English boxwoods, trailing Boston ivy and the sound of trickling fountains.
To further enhance the Greenwich Avenue experience, RH has transformed the former post office’s loading dock into an elegant second entrance complete with a European garden courtyard. Crushed granite, boxwood, white roses and hydrangeas are bordered by mature Green Mountain sugar maple and Skyline Honeylocust trees.
The Gallery at the Historic Post Office will offer personalized interior design services and upon opening, can be reached at 203.552.1040. Hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday 10am -7pm, and Sunday 11am - 6pm.
About RH, Restoration Hardware
RH (Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc.—NYSE: RH) is a curator of design, taste and style in the luxury lifestyle market. The Company offers collections through its retail galleries, source books, and online at RH.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, including any statements related to the use of the new space, visitors’ experience, hours of operations of RH Greenwich, The Gallery at the Historic Post Office and its personalized interior design services. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual or future results to differ materially from our expectations. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with RH business, please refer to the risk factors section in the Company's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. RH undertakes no obligation to update information contained herein, including forward-looking statements.
