Built from 1772 to 1779, the Maryland State House is the oldest legislative building in the country and served and the first United States Capital. It was originally constructed with a smaller dome, but the roof leaked and contemporaries considered it “unimpressive” and “inadequate.” It was replaced with a second much larger tiered dome that was completed in 1788, which continues to tower atop the State House today.

Failed modern restoration efforts (most recently in 1997 and 2011) left with peeling paint and severe water and insect damage. Worcester Eisenbrandt’s objective on this project was to restore the wood windows and louvers on all four levels and eight sides of the dome, as well as all of the exterior architectural millwork, including the balcony balustrade and wood cornices. Our field carpenters disassembled the windows and balustrade piece by piece and transported them down the extensive scaffolding and material lifts, in order to be sent back to our shop for restoration.

Once there, our shop craftsmen painstakingly rebuilt the sash, piecing them together from existing salvageable components and new dutchman repairs spliced in throughout. Similar steps were taken to restore the balustrade components, which were also heavily degraded. A combination of dutchman repairs and full component replacement were necessary. Once the restorations of the sash and balustrade were complete, the sash were reglazed, we applied primer and base coats of the linseed oil paint, and we returned them to site to be reinstalled.

While these restoration activities were underway in our shop, the onsite crew completed the restoration of the window frames and architectural millwork of the dome using the same processes. Once the shop restored items returned to site, they were reinstalled by our crew in the exact locations from which they came. The window sash were installed and returned to full operability. The balustrade was reassembled and attached to the building using new structural connections.

In addition to our restoration activities, our on-site crew performed repairs to the timber framing of the dome. In several locations, other trade contractors’ work exposed areas of structural damage, typically due to water infiltration or insect infestations. Our craftsmen replaced damaged timbers and dutchman repaired others as needed.