East Rotunda
The East Rotunda
was completed in 1879 and was designed by Richard von Ezdorf for the Navy
Department. The glass was painted over for black out purposes after the bombing
of Pearl Harbor, as were all the skylights and domes in the building.
Restoration of this dome (1984-1985, 1994) included the removal of paint from
the original red, white and blue glass and the replacement of two panes. The
National Park Service paint analysis revealed the color scheme in the
surrounding area, and aluminum and dutch metal paints were applied by painters
of the General Services Administration to
replicate the original silver and gold decorations.
West Rotunda
The West Rotunda was completed in 1884 and designed by Richard von
Ezdorf for the War Department. The original glass was removed in 1950 and
replaced with concrete, for reasons unknown.
Research and restoration began in 1984 and was completed in 1988. The
original designs for the glass were located at the
National Archives. Research was done to find
the color key, but none was located, so new colors were picked to match the
original colors found during paint analysis of the surrounding plaster. The
replication of the glass reflects a typical Victorian palette and the design
includes an orange-mocha color with lavender and green accents. The surrounding
plaster and cast iron decorations were painted and dutch metal simulating gold
leaf was applied by the GSA in-house painters. |