The Prince George Hotel in New York City fell into disrepair in the 1980s and housed over 1,600 homeless individuals. In the late 1990s, a non-profit organization took ownership and extensively rehabilitated the building. In 2005, the historic 5,000 square foot ballroom was restored. The restoration work was done by Kenneth Wampler's non-profit Alpha Workshops, where talented individuals with HIV/AIDS work alongside skilled artists. The Alpha Workshops completed decorative painting and recasting of missing elements. Multiple coats of Benjamin Moore paint and glazes were used to restore the ballroom to its former glory.

1. Belle of the Ballroom
Elegant in 1904 when it was built, the beaux-arts style Prince
George Hotel in New York City is adorned with many classical and
neo-renaissance flourishes.
By the 1980s, the hotel housed the city’s homeless where, at one
time, over 1,600 women and children lived. The ballroom became
a basketball court and, as the building slid into disrepair, it took the
surrounding area with it. The neighborhood became a haven for
drugs, violence and criminal activities.
Although listed on the National Register of Historic Places, for
many years the Prince George stood vacant. Then, in 1996,
Common Ground Community, a non-profit housing and community
development organization, secured ownership and began an extensive rehabilitation. The
building was re-opened in October 1999 as home to 416 formerly homeless and low-income
working, single adults, including those with HIV/AIDS, those with mental illness, and the elderly.
For its efforts, the owner and the Prince George received the World Habitat Award at United
National’s World Habitat Day.
As money becomes available, restoration work is being undertaken by the owners. In 2005 it was
the 5,000-square-foot ballroom’s turn to be returned to its former glory.
Key to the restoration was Kenneth Wampler, a decorative, fashion and theater artist who formed
the non-profit Alpha Workshops in 1995. Here talented people living with HIV join a core of highly
skilled artists where they have a place to do fine decorative work.
The Alpha Workshops not only did the decorative painting, but a good deal of the recasting of
broken or missing three-dimensional elements. Four large, central columns were heavily
encrusted with ornamentation, as were the pilasters, and much of them were missing.
To recast three-dimensional elements, they used rubber molds and cast in
resin the pieces needed. Most of the painting was done directly on the ceiling
and columns but, in addition, six large canvas medallions, each about eight
feet in diameter, were applied to the 23-foot-high ceiling.
Wampler explained that he chooses to use Regal® AquaVelvet® and Regal®
AquaPearl® in addition to the Studio Finishes® Glazes. “The Alpha
Workshops has a hand-painted wallpaper collection which we match to
Benjamin Moore® paints when making it. The paint is very-high-quality and
the fan deck makes communication between us and the designer easy. So it was natural that we
would use Benjamin Moore® paints on the Prince George project.”
“The painting was very laborious. It wasn’t just that we were using so many different colors, but
each one was painted and then had a glazed application over it; stippling or rubbing. On the
ceiling a garland of fruit surrounded larger areas, painted in solid colors. The fruits were first
painted a variety of colors and then an umber glaze was rubbed over all of it. On the columns and
pilasters, the whole piece was first painted with an ocher undercoat,” Wampler explained.
“The glaze was applied to everything so we only needed to use one coat of color, plus one coat of
gold glaze for the relief elements. From a time and cost standpoint, we didn’t want to have to use
multiple coats, and this did the trick.” He finished with, “the paint is really the belle of this
ballroom.”

2. Colors Used:
• Richmond Gold HC-41
• Merlot Red 2006-10
• Orange Burst 2015-20
• Tangelo 2017-30
• Salamander 2050-10
• Dollar Bill Green 2050-20
• Newport Green 2050-30
• Florida Keys Blue 2050-40
• Deep Taupe 2111-10
• Avocado 2145-10
• Metallic Gold 620