Restoration and preservation
Thanks to our custom fabrication facilities, extensive inventory of antique lighting parts, and immensely talented blacksmiths and craftspeople, we are able to take on projects that are simply beyond the capabilities of many other shops.
The bell pictured here was recovered from the ruins of St Mary's School in New Orleans' 9th ward by a Vermont cleanup volunteer. Conant Metal & Light restored it to its original splendor and the volunteer returned it to the headmistress as a gift of hope and encouragement.
Each restoration project is unique. We are always glad to prepare a quote. Please provide a photograph and as much information as possible, including a description of the piece and its dimensions, condition and finish (if known), as well as a description of the work desired. Photographs are essential for an accurate estimate.
Not sure what kind of job you need? Here is an overview of the four levels of restoration work to help you decide.
Please email chris@conantmetalandlight.com with a specific request, or call us toll-free at 800-832-4482 for more information.
UVM Dairy Stools
When Steve Conant was a college kid at UVM, he would often visit the Carrigan Dairy Bar to enjoy a 35 cent cone of UVM-made strawberry ice cream.
Had he known that some day he'd be restoring the very stool he was sitting on, perhaps he would have felt differently about them. In the 70's they were simply a place to sit and enjoy a moment's reprieve from one's studies.
Today, however, they represent the only remaining symbols of a day gone by.
The original building is gone and UVM no longer makes ice cream, but thanks to Conant Metal & Light, the stools are fully restored and installed for all to enjoy in the new Davis Student Center. Restoration included replacing broken springs and bearings, rust removal and the restoration of all chrome and painted surfaces. As a 'green' building, reuse was clearly the best choice
The Mount Estate & Gardens - Lenox, Mass.
In 1997, when the restoration of the deteriorated 1902 estate and gardens of famed American author Edith Wharton began, trustees sought out the best and the brightest to restore the site to its original glory. Thus, when the group determined that a centerpiece chandelier was beyond repair, they turned to Conant Metal & Light to manufacture a reproduction fixture true to the original. The elegant chandelier now commands attention as a focal point in the restored, 42-room mansion. The Mount is a National Historic Landmark notable for its stature in American architecture and design as well as for its owner and designer, the late author Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. In addition to the mansion, the estate includes a Georgian Revival stable, three acres of formal gardens and additional acres of scenic woodlands.
Union Station - St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis Union Station was at one time the largest and busiest passenger rail terminal in the world. Now it is one of St. Louis' most popular tourist attractions and a premier marketplace. Originally opened in 1894, it underwent a spectacular $100 million restoration in 1985. Conant Metal & Light played an important role in the project, reproducing more than 50 period fixtures for the main lobby. Today the station houses more than 90 specialty shops and restaurants, 10 movie theaters and a Hyatt Regency hotel.
Concord Free Public Library -- Concord, Mass.
As part of an $8 million renovation of the historic public library in Concord, Massachusetts, Conant Metal & Light painstakingly restored and refitted more than a dozen lighting fixtures dating back to 1873, when the library was founded. The stunning result of this project has earned accolades from historic preservationists throughout the world. The Concord Free Public Library is renowned for its special collection of materials documenting the Colonial, Revolutionary and literary history of Massachusetts, including the papers of Hawthorne, Thoreau, Frost, Emerson, Dickinson, Melville and others.
The Beverly Public Library - Beverly, Mass.
As part of a $2.5 million renovation of the historic Beverly Public Library in Massachusetts in 2001, Conant Metal & Light restored six grand, silver-plated chandeliers and four silver-plated desk lamps to pristine condition after a previous restoration effort by another company had led to further deterioration. Our restoration experts developed a cost-effective solution that salvaged the fixtures and enabled the library's restoration to proceed on track.
The Lebanon Opera House
In 2002, the city of Lebanon, N.H., completed a major renovation of the town's architectural "crown jewel:" the 1924 Lebanon Opera House and City Hall. Conant Metal & Light was retained to restore the building's collection of magnificent but dilapidated lighting fixtures, including a stunning brass chandelier. The period fixtures reflect the building's colorful history - from meeting house, to movie house, to active, year-round performing arts facility today. The 800-seat facility is the largest proscenium theater in the region and the cultural focal point of the greater Lebanon community.
The Steamboat Ticonderoga - Shelburne, VT
Who better to restore all the original lighting and brass hardware on the 220-foot steamship Ticonderoga, a National Historic Landmark, than Conant Metal & Light? Now housed at the famed Shelburne Museum, the last walking-beam, sidewheel passenger steamer in existence portrays life on board in 1923 - complete with carved woodwork, gilded ceilings, staterooms, a grand staircase and, of course, beautifully preserved brass fixtures. Conant Metal & Light restored and rewired all of the original period bronze ship lights - upwards of a hundred of them - and rebuilt countless brass hardware components, including a binnacle cover (compass housing), for this impressive project.
The West Monitor Barn - Richmond, Vermont
The West Monitor Barn is an iconic state and local historic landmark that sits alongside Interstate 89 between Montpelier and Burlington. At the time of its construction in 1901, the "monitor" roof design - which aids air circulation and thus improves the health of the livestock inside - represented a major advance in barn architecture.
Over the years, the barn had fallen into major structural disrepair and at one point was slated for demolition. Local preservationists and other activists came to the rescue and with the help of the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), dismantled the decaying structure and rebuilt it to its original specifications. Today the barn is fully restored and serving as a fully operational conservation, education and training center under the YCC. Conant Metal & Light contributed to the effort by fabricating historically accurate, period-style brass lamps for the exterior.
The Lois McClure Schooner
When a Vermont maritime museum decided in 2000 to reproduce an 1862-era canal sailing schooner, it gave volunteers the opportunity to pitch in and help and it gave Conant Metal & Light the opportunity to demonstrate once again, its talents in historical lighting reproduction. The result is the 88-foot Lois McClure Schooner (named after the project's main benefactor), whose hold features brass lanterns fabricated by Conant Metal & Light. The low-voltage lanterns are brand new, but you would never know it by looking at them: the distressed finish gives the appearance of fixtures that have aged gracefully to the rhythms of the sea. The lanterns are one of the many features that lend historical authenticity to this project, which marked the first canal schooner to be built in over a century.
New Hampshire State Library
The imposing New Hampshire State Library, built in 1895 of native granite, is one of the complex of buildings comprising the center of state government in Concord. It is said to be the oldest state library in the U.S. The state retained Conant Metal & Light in early 2006 to restore two 200-pound, 8' tall bronze torchieres to grace the front entrance, part of an ongoing restoration of historic state buildings. The torchieres are depicted in the period sketch at left.
