White House Stone Carving: Builders and Restorers

Excerpt from Preface: As one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, the White House is both a symbol of freedom and a representation of America to people throughout the world. Today, two hundred years after the laying of the cornerstone, craftsmen are at work restoring the exterior sandstone walls of the White House. As a result, the exquisite eighteenth-century carvings and tooled stone faces, long hidden under numerous layers of paint coatings, can be fully appreciated. The exterior restoration project has provided an opportunity to study the intricately carved stones and investigate the original stone carving and quarrying procedures. The laborious task of thousands of stones that weighed as much as 1 1/2 tons was a remarkable accomplishment, especially in the late 1700s in America. In keeping with the long tradition of maintaining the historical character of the original stone walls, the project aims to minimize the loss of the original stone, replacing only what is necessary. Small pieces of matching Aquia creek sandstone, quarried at the same time and from the same quarry as the White House stone, are used to repair larger stones that are severely cracked, weathered, or damaged.