Our next Behind the Scenes Tour will be an up-close examination of the restoration work that is currently in process in the ballroom of the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion with restoration artist Thomas Moore of Thomas Moore Studios. Mr. Moore will personally take us through the process of how he is returning this fabulous example of Gilded Age opulence to its former glory.
Tour Details
Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, 11 W. Mt. Vernon Place, 21201
Thursday, July 28 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
$15/members, $20/non-members – wine and cheese will be served.
RSVP for the tour today!
Just how does one go about restoring historic finishes and repairing woodwork that cost a literal fortune to put in place over a hundred years ago? Thomas Moore Studios has been doing just this for interior spaces of the nation’s finest historic buildings since 1988. The Studio’s restoration projects include the Senate Reception Room at the U.S. Capitol and the law library at the U.S. Supreme Court. They have now turned their attention to the ballroom at Baltimore’s Garrett-Jacobs Mansion. Beginning in 1872, the mansion was the home of Robert Garrett, president of the B&O Railroad, and his wife Mary Frick Garrett. After Garrett’s death, Mrs. Garrett married Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs and the couple added the ballroom by purchasing the neighboring house and converting it into an entertaining space. The mansion is exceptional for many things, including that it can boast of being the product of two renowned architects, Stamford White and John Russell Pope. The building, and particularly the ballroom, was the location of many society balls and Gilded Age parties that included dinner, dancing, live music, theater, and other festivities often for hundreds of people.
Mr. Moore and his colleagues are putting their talents to good use here, where decades of fancy soiree’s complete with full-on smoking and oil lamps going all night long have taken their toll. Collaborating with fine artists, designers, scholars, preservation experts, and architectural historians, Mr. Moore is gilding miles of gold trim, restoring marble baseboards, and repairing and refinishing the elaborate woodwork. The conservation process being developed for the painted ceiling vignettes will also be discussed. The work is underway but not complete, and Mr. Moore has kindly agreed to lead our tour through the steps he is taking as a restoration specialist to return this stunning room to its over-the-top appeal. Please join us as we learn about the mansion and its history, and about the careful and skilled work that is going into is restoration.