Conservators of Architectural Legacies

America’s architectural identity has always drawn from the wellspring of European classicism for its decorative detailing and embellishment. As ornamental plaster flourished from the early 18th century to the 1940s, the elite of Italy’s, France’s and Britain's skilled ornamental plasterers migrated to the US and worked steadily.

Designs from eminent architects for both public and private projects ran a myriad of styles: Georgian, Federal, Edwardian, Greek Revival, Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, and Louis XIV. Much of these venerable structures survive today, albeit not in the best of condition.

Since its inception in 1914, JP Weaver Company has held the fortunate position of being the preeminent source for restoration and conservation of ornamental mouldings. Over a century of experience and well over ten thousand of our individual cataloged ornamental pieces has placed us in the vanguard for international ornamental restoration.

Many times a client will come to us with nothing more than fragmented pieces of a ceiling crown or frieze. Our first step is to identify the individual elements while adhering to and respecting the original design flow.

From there we typically create a model from the original. If the pieces are usable, we will incorporate them into the model; however many times we must create this from scratch. Our vast catalog of ornamental pieces serves us well in this area. Beyond that, we will sculpt necessary elements to complete the model.

From there a mold is made. This will allow for castings in either plaster or resin, depending on the needs of the client. The model and mold is to exact scale of the original design. This insures the newly cast moulding will match perfectly to the existing elements and rooms.

We will then make the castings. Both our plaster and resin castings are famous for their impeccable detail and superb undercuts. In fact, many times our clients will abdicate whatever extant mouldings have survived in lieu of entirely new cast mouldings. Our techniques and artistry allow us to achieve unparalleled results in this area that most often surpass the craftsmanship of the originals.

In equal measure to our passion for original design, we garner infinite pleasure in restoring and conserving motifs from the past. In a way, it is both cathartic and humbling to have a hand in this arena.

One of our special projects was the restoration of California’s State Capitol Building in Sacramento. It was early 1970s and then president of JP Weaver, Lenna Tyler Kast was commissioned. When she came on the job the building was deemed unsafe because of structural cracks caused by earthquakes.

The dilemma was whether to tear down or restore the building to its original splendor. There were no surviving original plans, drawings or records describing the design of the building.

What they did have was a small faded photograph of the governor’s office from a 1931 office Christmas party. Because of the height of the Christmas tree, a substantial portion of the ceiling design was in the shot. Lenna was able to identify the size of the room from the photo, and from this tiny piece of reference, was able to scale the design.

From there huge molds of the surviving designs were made in addition to replicated moulding created by JP Weaver artisans. The outside of the building was buttressed as our staff went to work on the inside.

The results were beyond even our expectations. To this day, many of the staff and elected officials have commented and marveled at the work that was done. Lenna reflected that her work went beyond any possible financial reward; but her genuine joy came from leaving a legacy for the state of California that preserves one of the earliest and most sophisticated historical buildings.

This is indeed the same passion we hold today. If you are involved, or even entertaining the idea of a restoration project, we look forward to hearing from you.