Clara Barton Museum
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office was rediscovered in 1996 by GSA’s Richard Lyons when the building faced demolition. Located on 7th Street NW in Washington, D.C., it was Barton’s home during and after the Civil War, where she stored battlefield supplies and later ran her missing-soldiers correspondence office. In 1865 she opened the “Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army,” answering more than 63,000 inquiries and helping determine the fate of over 22,000 soldiers by the office’s closure in 1867.
After its accidental discovery, Clara Barton’s Apartment and Missing Soldiers Office was restored to become a museum. After decades of neglect, the interiors were severely deteriorated. Plaster was failing, wood lathe was exposed in every room, mold was evident throughout, and there were layers of peeling wallpaper in various states of decay.
EverGreene provided preservation consulting services to architect OLBN. A comprehensive restoration scope was developed by the design team for the conservation or replication of historic wallpaper, woodwork, metalwork, plaster, gas lighting, and painted surfaces. Our conservators provided a range of services including quality control and construction oversight; documentation; paint analysis and color matching; product recommendations and specifications; and technical assistance on all aspects of historic conservation treatments.
EverGreene was also engaged to conduct an in-depth forensic investigation on the original wallpapers and finishes. By creating exposure windows, our conservators were able to identify many different original and post-historic wallpapers. Samples were then analyzed in our lab; we were able re-create the lost patterns and identify the original colors found in the wallpaper fragments. For the restoration, the wallpapers were digitally reproduced or hand screened; highly-pigmented paints were custom-tinted and hand-mixed with a super matte finish to replicate the original. Finally after many design consultations, samples, and experimentation with hue, tone and finish, high-quality reproduction Victorian wallpaper was made in our studio and hung on the rebuilt plaster walls and ceilings. A total of 16 different original wallpaper fragments, including five borders, were created for the space.
