Custom Door Restoration
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia is an independent member-supported library and museum. It was founded in 1814 to collect materials "connected with the history and antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for public benefit. . (PhilaAthenaeum.org). The museum is located at 6th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood, around the corner from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
The Athenaeum was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
The Athenaeum was named a National Historic Landmark in 1977
The Athenaeum was named a National Historic Landmark in 1977
Severely Plain Doors?
The Athenaeum was designed in 1845 by the innovative architect John Notman (1810-1865) and is widely hailed as the seminal American structure in the Italianate Revival Style and one of the first Philadelphia buildings built of brownstone. Severely plain on the exterior and deceptive in scale, the Athenaeum building contains richly embellished reading rooms with 24-foot ceilings. (PhilaAthenaeum.org)
The building was renovated sometime in the 1970s and at that time a craftsman from Italy created the beautiful doors and wood work seen throughout the building. The interior still looks great almost 40+ years later but the exterior of the front doors - shown here before restoration - were showing their age. The Old Village Design Studio™ was asked to restore and refinish these doors.
Drab entrance doors to the National Historic Landmark The Athenaeum before restoration by the Old Village Design Studio
Drab entrance doors to the National Historic Landmark The Athenaeum before restoration by the Old Village Design Studio
Transformation
Mary Demi and Emilie Stulb Magowan of The Old Village Design Studio™ restoring the beautiful front doors at The Athenaeum
Mary Demi and Emilie Stulb Magowan of The Old Village Design Studio™ restoring the beautiful front doors at The Athenaeum
After Restoration
And the finished product... The doors look great now after restoration by
The Old Village Design Studio™ restored the entrance doors to the historic Athaeum to their original beauty with a durable finish that will protect then for a long time
The Old Village Design Studio™ restored the entrance doors to the historic Athaeum to their original beauty with a durable finish that will protect then for a long time