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Paint Archeology Projects Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, ON: JBC has worked on four phases of work at Dundurn Castle including finishes investigations, paint archaeology and plaster sounding. The interior had been renovated several times over the years and paint archaeology was used to determine architectural elements present during the target period. Dundurn Castle was constructed over a three year period and was completed in 1835. Designed by a young English Architect, Robert Wetherall, Dundurn was built around the brick shell of Colonel Richard Beasley’s colonial home. Today Dundurn Castle has been restored to the year 1855 when the building was the home of Sir Allen McNab, one of Canada’s first Premiers. The home consists of over forty rooms furnished to compare the life of a prominent Victorian‐era family with that of their servants. Colonial Building, St. Johns, NF: JBC undertook several projects in the Colonial Building during the restoration of the interior including finishes investigations of both the public spaces and private offices, paint archeology, finishes reveals, plaster sounding and consolidation and in‐
fill painting of the decorative painted ceilings in the Assembly Room and the Council Chamber. Completed in 1850, the Colonial Building served as the seat of the Newfoundland government and the House of Assembly from January 28, 1850 until July 28th, 1959 when Newfoundlanders voted to become a part of Canada. The decorative ceilings had been completed in 1880 and 1881 by a Polish decorative painter, Alexander Pindikowski, in exchange for a reduced jail sentence received for passing bad checks. Harmony Hall, Ft. Washington, MD: JBC performed interior and exterior finishes investigations and paint archaeology along with mortar and plaster analysis to be incorporated into a Historic Structures Report being completed for the property. The house was originally constructed between 1723 and 1760 and multiple additions had been erected and demolished over the years. Paint archaeology was used to gain a greater understanding of the house, determine which elements of the house were original, which dated to the various later alterations and to narrow down the date of construction. The house is currently managed by the National Park Service and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. 40 west 27
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street • Suite 1201 • new york, ny 10001 • 212/532.7775 • fax 212/532.2188
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Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Schneider Saloon, New York, NY: JBC assisted in the opening of investigative probes in the interior walls of the basement of 97 Orchard Street and performed laboratory analysis on paint samples removed from these probes with the goal of generating an understanding about the history and evolution of the former Schneider Saloon at the basement level of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. By discovering elements to date the various periods of the Saloon’s evolution, it will aid in the Museum’s restoration and interpretation of the space. Constructed in 1863, the museum tells the story of immigrant families and visitors view restored and ruin apartments of past residents from different time periods. Gage House, Stoney Creek, ON: Also known as the Battle House Museum, the Gage House was constructed in 1796 and in 1813 became the headquarters for the invading American Troops during the War of 1812. Over the next 200 years the house had undergone several alterations including a major “restoration” in 1972 for which most of the documentation has been lost. JBC was hired by the City of Hamilton to perform a finishes investigation and paint archaeology of the interior to determine the extent of original finishes remaining after the 1972 work. While much of the wood elements had been stripped, earlier finishes were found on areas not easily removed such as the stairs and the plaster walls. The finishes investigation determined that the color scheme used during the 1972 restoration and repeated for several subsequent painting campaigns are not original to the house. While stencils were faithfully copied, they had been added to areas of the 2nd floor that had originally been left plain. U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC: JBC performed finishes investigations, paint archaeology and finish reveals in the 3rd Floor Senate Corridor, the Old Senate Chamber and the Ceremonial Office of the Speaker of the House. The goal of the investigations was to determine the location of historic elements and a history of the color in the rooms in order for the Architect of the Capitol to develop color schemes for the spaces. The United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC, is among the most architectural impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for over two centuries. Begun in 1793, the Capitol building has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended and restored. 40 west 27
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street • Suite 1201 • new york, ny 10001 • 212/532.7775 • fax 212/532.2188
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Ft. Washington, Ft. Washington, MD: JBC was retained by BBB to perform a finish color investigation of the Officer’s Quarters and Soldier’s Barracks of Ft. Washington. In addition to the finishes investigation, paint archeology was used to determine which elements were original to the rooms. Ft. Washington was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington, DC and is one of the few remaining sea‐
coastal forts in its original design. The original fort was completed in 1809, but was destroyed by its own garrison in 1814 during the War of 1812. The current fort was constructed in 1824 with extensive remodeling in 1840 and the 1890s. Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, Morris Plains, NJ: At the request of the Stickley Museum, JBC completed a Historic Preservation Plan for the site. As the interiors of several of the buildings had been extensively remodeled, paint archeology was completed in an effort to determine which elements dated to the Stickley occupation of the site. Gustav Stickley intended for Craftsman Farms to be either a school for boys or a utopian community where men and women could get “back to the earth” and work with their hands. The Farm’s core has become a museum showcasing the life and times of Gustav Stickley and the site has become the quintessential Arts and Crafts site in the United States. 40 west 27
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street • Suite 1201 • new york, ny 10001 • 212/532.7775 • fax 212/532.2188