When Bronxville resident Renee Byers learned that graceful wrought-iron lamps once spanned the granite columns at the two main entrances to Avon Road, her thoughts turned toward re-creating history. With help from the Village Historian Eloise Morgan, Renee found the originals in bits and pieces in a cob-webbed corner of the Village Hall basement. Turning to the Bronxville Historical Conservancy for funding the effort, along with support from the Village of Bronxville, Renee embarked on the ambitious project of creating near-exact replicas, and on January 21, 2003, the lanterns were back in place, once again gracing the stately granite columns on Avon Road where it intersects with Midland Avenue and Sagamore Road.
Re-constructed by Jozef Witcowski of Jozef Custom Ironworks of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the approximately 18″ high and have an antique bronze finish. With electrical connections and 3 candelabra bulbs, the fixtures will shine nightly, in concert with the village street lamps. The Bronxville Historical Conservancy fully funded the fixtures’ re-creation, installation and electrical work at a cost of approximately $50,000.
