Decatur House, built in 1818 and designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, was the first residential neighbor to the White House and is today a National Trust Historic Site and a National Historic Landmark. Oak Grove Restoration served as the general contractor for the restoration of the entry hall and stair hall in a project funded in part by a grant from the Save America’s Treasures program.
To begin the project, Oak Grove carefully removed as many as 11 layers of paint from plaster and wood moldings and ornaments. Once the original surface was exposed, Oak Grove craftsmen repaired the plaster dome, cove ceiling, and delicate original millwork.
The project also included re-casting and re-installing original plaster moldings and ornaments, removing abandoned electrical, and restored of the original painted finishes based on spectrographic analysis. Oak Grove also surveyed, removed, cleaned, and repaired all historic hardware and light fixtures.
For the restoration of the Decatur House entryway, Oak Grove Restoration Company, Davis Buckley Architects, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation received the AIA/DC Design Excellence Award for Historic Resources. The judges specifically praised the project’s “reflection of the rigors of pure historic preservation.”
