The main building of the Historic Annapolis Post Office was built in 1901 in the Georgian revival style.  To keep up with the expanding city, a large rear addition was constructed in 1939.  However, in 2017, the USPS moved its 21st century operations to a new site; the state of Maryland purchased the building and began the process of renovating the stately property into state government offices.

As part of the Phase 1 restoration of the building envelope, WEI was contracted to restore all the wood windows in the building, and the cupola woodwork.  Part of the cupola scope was to make repairs to the four plaster garlands attached to the cardinal facades.

However, at close inspection, much of the garland material had been lost completely or heavily eroded, requiring complete replacement.  With MHT approval, WEI took the recognizeable sections of each of the four garlands and compiled them on one work space.  Our sculptor then filled in the missing sections using the surviving sections as reference.  After a mold of this clay sculpture was taken, four new modified plaster garlands were cast. To help them survive the exposure to the elements near the top of the building, they were treated with a chemical consolidant before being primed.

During the sculpting stage, WEI craftsmen found evidence that the garlands had originally been gilded.  Maryland GSA were in the process of having other elements of the cupola gilded, and wished the garlands to match.  WEI gilded the intricate garlands with double-weight 24K gold leaf, for long-lasting finish layer.  The garlands were installed by the WEI site crew using stainless steel fasteners and sealed along the top to reduce water intrusion.