New Jersey State House

Trenton, NJ

EverGreene’s first U.S Capitol project work started with the New Jersey State House back in 1988. Built in 1790, it is the third-oldest state house in continuous legislative use in the United States.

For more than three and a half decades, we have been privileged to provide restoration services on both the exterior and interior of the building. In 1988, we completed the restoration of the House and Senate Chambers, which included scagliola, gilding, decorative painting, and murals. EverGreene restored the plaster cove and its trompe l’oeil mural, along with wood restoration and historic paint finishes in the central lobby under the rotunda. We worked on the Annex restoring the zenatherm and completing decorative painting.

Our team most recently return to the New Jersey State House in 2020-2022 for the full restoration, including regilding the dome. Our ongoing interior work at the State Housel includes extensive decorative painting in multiple rooms, replication of historic stencils, faux-bois wood graining, plaster repair, and lincrusta. The Rotunda contains numerous references to the State and nation, including eagles, swords, scales, and the New Jersey State Seal. The State House Rotunda was restored to its 1911 to 1913 appearance during a six-year restoration of the State House’s Executive Wing that culminated in 2023.

In 2000, EverGreene restored various facets of the long-standing New Jersey State House dome. The copper on the metal dome needed to be replaced. The restoration included interior and exterior gilding of the dome: preparing the surface by acid washing, neutralizing, and applying yellow chromate paint. 

In 2022, the dome was regilded. The dome was carefully stripped and the residue removed using lead-safe practices. Next, the stripper was neutralized, a mild acid wash applied, and the surface prepped to bare metal. Once the surface was ready, our decorative painters applied primer and 23.75kt gold leaf.