Family-owned, New York-based stone company Petrillo Stone Corporation is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its business relationship with another respected New York institution – Fordham University. As part of that celebration, the team at Petrillo Stone recently carved and installed a new 16 ft. Fordham University seal and accompanying lettering in 23 karat gold leaf at the Lincoln Center Campus.

The relationship between Fordham University and Petrillo Stone Corp. dates way back to the deep dark depths of the Great Depression. In 1936, company founder Antonio Petrillo (A.T. Petrillo Company at the time) took the contract to fabricate all the cut limestone work for Keating Hall, at the Rose Hill Campus. This was a huge undertaking. The majority of the finished work was hand carved and all of the work was fabricated in the shop in Mount Vernon, NY. Keating Hall would be the first of many projects that generations of Petrillos would be handling for Fordham University.

In fact, Antonio’s son, John Petrillo, recounted many years after the completion of Keating Hall to his own son Ralph, “that job is what got our company through the Great Depression.”

In the years after the completion, Petrillo Stone Corporation has continued to replace pieces of limestone for Keating Hall due to acid rain or the shifting of the building. The family-owned business has completed other notable projects for Fordham University over the last 80 years, using the same traditional craftsmanship exemplified by founder Antonio.

“I can only speak for the 38 years I have been at Fordham for the consistently high standard of both product and service we have received from Petrillo Stone. Petrillo takes our ideas and translates them into workable designs executed to perfection at both our campuses,” said Brian J Byrne, Vice President for Lincoln Center Campus.

The above is an excerpt from a recent press release. Find the full article here.