Case Studies

Since 1802, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in upstate New York, has played a significant role in the instruction of some of the nation’s finest military leaders. With the large numbers of men and women entering West Point, the addition of a new barracks was crucial. The new cadet barracks are named after General Benjamin Davis Jr. a former Tuskegee Airman named the first African-American general officer in the U.S. Air Force.

When constructing the new barracks, it was important to West Point to match the existing feel and color of the 200 year old campuses gothic revival architecture as well as use a product that will last another 200 years, making granite a natural choice.

The architect visited the manufacturer facilities and local Charcoal Black^® quarry to help envision the project and solidify the relationship. Nearly 200,000 square feet of beautiful, custom-cut and hand-crafted NSC 373 certified Charcoal Black and Mesabi Black granite pieces were used for the exterior, site wall, stair treads, coping, sills, and paving of West Point’s newest cadet barracks. With a tight deadline it was essential that the granite supplier and fabricator had complete control over shipping the 200,000 4″ thick, split face pieces of granite from central Minnesota to upstate New York. It’s not typical for pieces this size to be shipped in their finished state to the job site, but the puzzle like process for installation made it possible. Each piece was hand-crafted and numbered to fit into a specific spot, and once on site was easily assembled. This cut down on time and on site work significantly. By completion, 310 trucks made the trip across country, on time and at times ahead of schedule.

The barracks were dedicated on May 1st, 2017 and occupation started in fall of 2017. The manufacturer was able to provide the colors, quality, coordination and schedule needed for the project.

Photo Credit Amesse Photography