As the oldest triumphal arch in the United States, The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch honors the 4,000 men and women from Hartford, Connecticut who served during the Civil War. It was designed by famous architect George Keller and was dedicated on September 17, 1886. The Arch is constructed with Portland Brownstone, limestone carvings, and terra-cotta friezes that depict various themes related to the Civil War.
The Bushnell Park Foundation awarded Cenaxo the contract to complete the much-needed restorative work on the Arch. The project included; repointing and repairing the masonry, restoring the wooden doors at the entrances, cleaning and adding moisture protection to the masonry as well as re-lamping and re-aiming all of the light fixtures.
A unique challenge of this project was the restoration of the architectural brownstone surrounding the main doors at each tower. Cenaxo craftsman repaired and sculpted these brownstone details to match the original profiles.
The original mahogany doors were carefully removed and transported to our facilities where they were restored. The door repairs included removing all of the cast iron hardware. The mahogany was prepared for restoration while maintaining the historic patina and then multiple coats of high-performance varnish were hand-applied to protect them for years to come.