Charles Bullfinch's Old State House in Hartford was built in 1796 and has been a highly recognizable icon for the past 200 years. Tecton's restoration work began about seven years ago under direction of the Connecticut General Assembly. As a historic preservation architect, Tecton has developed solutions to address a holistic approach for long-term preservation. The current strategy includes multiple phases of restoration to individually address the cupola, roof, balusters, trims, masonry assemblies and windows. To date, Tecton has restored the 1827 cupola and the fiberglass replica of the original John Stanwood wooden Lady Justice Statue.

Throughout the restoration, the owner, architect and contractor worked as a team to recognize critical moments in the restoration. The result is a historic gem that with regular maintenance should last another 100 years.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

• Repairs of signature Lady of Justice Statue included re-gilding of faded gold with 23.75 carat gold leaf.
• Paint and rotted features were repaired, returning them to their original condition.
• Copper dome was repaired from its previous, badly damaged state.

AWARDS

2014 CT CREW Blue Ribbon Award for Historic Preservation

2014 CT CREW People’s Choice Award

2014 Associated Builders and Contractors Historic Restoration Award

2014 AIA CT Special Citation Award