Department of the Treasury Woodwork and DC

[Deadskins]

I had the privilege of watching the Inauguration Ceremony and Parade from the Department of the Treasury building on Monday.  They put up a 10x10 screen in "The Cash Room" and we watched the video and then later went outside to watch the parade.  The Treasury building is actually part of the White House complex, so it was a cool view.
Anyway, I was showing some guests around the building and took these pictures.  Sorry for the details.  Back in the 1800's, some incredible craftsmen built these domes with gold inlay.  During WW II, someone had the brilliant idea that the domes should be filled in with concrete to protect the building from bombings that never occurred.  The domes were forgotten about for 50 years.  Then a major project was started and is ongoing to restore the Treasury building like it was 100+ years ago.  I could not help myself from snapping the picture of the dust control and tools of today's workers.  No Festool stuff around.

 

[Tinker]

I was am mason contractor for 30+ years, so i have an idea of how much work goes into a stone or brick structure.  I always marvel at how much skill and hard work went into the old buildings we have in this country.  When I have been to Germany with my wife and children and looked at so many of the old buildings that (many) are older than this country, I am totally amazed.  How much labor went into getting all that stone so high into the air.  The stone carvings are unbelievable, not only for the artistry involved, but the patience to do all of that without the assistance of air hammers and electric grinders. There were no hydraulics or gas engines to move materials from point A to point B which, in some cases was 100's of feet above.
Unimaginable
Tinker

 

[Deadskins]

Tinker,

I agree completely.  These are pictures from "The Cash Room" (not named for Johnny), which was where people would cash in their bonds.  This entire room is stone!

 

[peter halle]

Back in '77 my family had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. because my sister was selected as a Presidential Scholar.  That honor was awarded at that time to the two high school seniors in each state and also in US territories based on their scholarly performance.  That was the highest high for my parents who came to the US to have a family and give them opportunities not available anywhere else in the world at that time.  Mom and Dad scraped by financially but although we only lived about 100 miles from Washington Dad paid for the 7 of us to fly to Washington for the ceremonies.  The ceremonies were supposed to be held in the White House Rose Garden, but rain ruined it and we were put inside a room at the Treasury Building.  Only Mom and Dad could see the ceremony, but I got a chance to look around at everything and wonder how? in amazement.  The room looked nothing like what the images earlier showed, but the sweat and efforts of those before me impressed me nonetheless.  

I need to actually spend some time in Washington and visit just a tiny portion of the fabulous buildings.

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

This is very reminiscent of the work done in the Great Hall (and other areas) in the Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress when Dr. Boorstin was the Librarian of Congress.  The restoration work took out cubicles and other hack work and brought the art work and original craftsmanship back into public view. 

 

[Deadskins]

They are currently finishing re-building an entire staircase that they discovered a few years ago.  During the War of Northern Aggession (some call it the Civil War), somebody sealed it off and made it an elevator shaft.

 

[Tinker]

The stone carving has always amazed me.  Altho i seldom got to work with any stone of the quality those old artisans worked with, i know the frustration of working to shape a piece of rock to JUST THE RIGHT SHAPE.  I might have worked on a single stone for an hour and have it nearly perfect to spec.  One or two more strikes with hammer and chisel would make it perfect.  And then, that one last strike and a large chunk would fly off where a crack in the grain had not been observed. Or impatience to complete perfection ran amuck.  [scared] Those were the times i might take a walk in the woods, or as some of our Down Under friends might say, "Go a walk about."  I never got upset in a way that i would rant and rave, or throw things around as i have seen some do; but I did need to sometimes take a break at such times.  I can just imagine the nerves those old stone cutters (sculpters) must have had.

And to think their tools were shaped and hardened by hand.  And there were no carbide tools either.  Oh, BTW, even today, the carbide tools can chip or shatter if used improperly or the wrong tool used for the wrong operation.  When i was cutting stone, i had a blacksmith who shaped and tempered my hand tools for me.  (HE was the man who took me to a job  to fix a fireplace where I met my wife.  That is another long story)  When he quit iron woking, i started getting my stone tools from a quarry tool supplier in Barre, Northern Vermont.  When the old tools became dull and mis-shapen, there was no other blacksmith who could do a decent job and my chisels, pitches, tracers and even my hammers would either mushroom or shatter.  When the old timers (stone masons) were around, there were blacksmiths who understood their needs.  Thru the years, i had only found two iron workers who could shape and temper stone tools properly. If the temper was wrong, the tools would mushroom or shatter.  That was a part of the frustrations involved with stone work.  When i changed to carbide tools, it was almost like learning the trade all over again.  The tools were not as sharp as far as the taper of the edges were concerned.  The tracing tools were even delicate and there was no blunting and taking to blacksmith for reshaping.  Hit it wrong and you had a pile of carbide splinters in front of you.  The pitches and chisels were stronger and the heavier tools could really be belted with authority. The angle of the cutting edges were more oblique than the steel tools so they did not cut as finely even tho they could be hit harder with hammer.  But hit them at the wrong angle, or drop them in a certain way, the tool could be ruined.  And they were not only expensive, it was a days trip to Vermont to get "just the right" tool for replacement. I was very particular about the right feel, heft and balance.  I guess that sort of expense softened me up for the Festoy experience of later years :. 

I would have loved to have had the chance to observe, and maybe even work with some of those old timers.
Tinker