In addition to repairing the outside of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, workers are reconstructing its pinnacle: a 10-foot-tall Celtic cross.

Four years ago, chunks of the church’s 141-year-old brownstone facade fell onto the roof of the adjoining Henri Bendel store. The architectural firm Ford3, the structural engineering firm Robert Silman Associates and the investigation and testing firm Vertical Access, which sends inspectors up on ropes and boatswain’s chairs, took a close look.

Their conclusion was that it was time for a full-scale restoration of the brownstone on the north tower, next to Bendel, and on the south clock tower, which is topped by the Celtic cross that symbolically conjures the church’s Scottish heritage. The project includes cleaning, restoring and releading the clear exterior windows.

Source: Restoring a Cross High Above Manhattan, Stone by Stone – The New York Times