Preservation Projects

Aquidneck Mills

International Yacht Restoration School
Newport, RI

As part of a major renovation of these historic Thames Street warehouses, under the supervision of Rhode Island Historical Commission, both brick and rubble stone buildings were completely renovated. The windows had been subject to sea air and storms for years, and were seriously deteriorated and beyond salvage. M&A provided replica custom wood windows for both buildings, complete with restoration glass to simulate the original glazing.

Symphony Hall

Boston, MA

Designed by McKim Mead and White and erected in 1900, this National Register landmark is renowned as one of the three finest concert halls in the world. The hall’s huge clerestory windows were sealed and covered during World War II and not touched again until 2008, when M&A restored the original clerestory sash and provided exterior storm windows to match the existing clerestories, using specially designed new glazing in all of the windows to maintain the acoustical integrity of the space.

The Old State House

Boston, MA

M&A restored the façade and windows of this National Trust revolutionary landmark. The Old State House was once the site of important historical events like the Boston Massacre, and it is now a museum, the most popular tourist spot of the Boston National Park.

M&A worked with a team of architectural conservators and the National Park Service to determine which elements of the façade had exceeded their useful life, and replicated them with South American mahogany. The remainder of the components, including all of the windows, were conserved with epoxies and wood Dutchmen to match the species, grain and joinery.

Peikoff Alumni House

Gallaudet University
Washington DC

This unique Tudor building, a National Register property, was suffering from extensive structural deterioration when M&A began its work to stabilize and conserve the structure. The building was timber-framed with mortise and tenon joints, and the timbers were exposed on the interior and exterior. From the time it was built in 1881, water had followed the diagonals to their intersection with horizontal and vertical members, leading to extensive deterioration of the mortised pockets and tenons, with failures so severe that the design team decided to replace the timbers. M&A provided new Douglas fir timbers, radio-frequency dried. Siding and trim were replaced to match existing in South American mahogany. The monumental stained glass windows were removed so that new mahogany frames could be built to match the originals, which were misshapen and deteriorated. M&A also re-sided the interior of the new gymnasium walls and ceilings.

Photo: Bryan Becker Photography

Photo: Bryan Becker Photography

Photo: Bryan Becker Photography

Photo: Bryan Becker Photography

Photo: Bryan Becker Photography

National Portrait Gallery

Washington DC

Lead abatement had resulted in severe damage to the already well-worn historical woodwork and paneling in the Old Patent Office, DC’s third oldest public building. Rich Muckle developed a method for saving the extensive window and door paneling from demolition, by neutralizing the substrate, repairing the damaged wood fibers, and making selective dutchmen patches to repair moldings and panels. Additionally, M&A furnished and installed the museum’s new millwork and casework.

Photo: Richard Mandelkorn Photography

Photo: Richard Mandelkorn Photography

Photo: Richard Mandelkorn Photography

Photo: Richard Mandelkorn Photography

Waltham Watch Factory

Waltham, MA

M&A restored 1,800 windows in several buildings of the former Waltham Watch Factory, which is now being used as commercial and residential space.

Photo: Greg Premru Photography

Photo: Greg Premru Photography

Photo: Greg Premru Photography

Naumburg Apartment De-installation

Harvard Art Museum
Cambridge, MA

M&A Architectural provided a complete documentation report of the existing conditions of this Jacobean-style period apartment: paneling, beams, staircase, balcony, windows, doors, fireplaces and mantels, and antique chandeliers and sconces. Then, M&A carpenters carefully dismantled the entire apartment, marking, measuring, disassembling, and carefully crating each architectural element.

New Bedford Whaling Museum

National Historical Park
New Bedford, MA

M&A restored all of the monumental windows at the museum, and restored the cupola and cupola windows. Cupola sash and parts which were too badly deteriorated to be salvageable were replaced with mahogany sash and trim to match the originals. This museum is the center of the New Bedford National Historic Park.

Lyman Hall

Brown University
Providence, RI

Originally a gymnasium when built in 1891, Lyman Hall now houses the Leeds Theatre and Brown’s Theatre, Speech and Dance Departments. M&A restored all 130 of the building’s original wood windows, and replaced the dormer sills, each of which contained a group of three windows. The three double-hung windows in the central tower, which have a unique muntin design and radius sash, were replaced with new mahogany sash and trim to exactly match the originals.