Ruth Museum   

Baltimore, MD

This project involved the restoration of eight chain-hung pendants dating to the 1920s.  The building was originally a train station dating to the 1850s, now in the shadow of the Camden Yards baseball stadium.  When we were asked to survey the fixtures for a quotation, we found them piled in a storage trailer (see photo).  The removal and storage procedures had caused damage to the bottom globe-holder of each fixture.   Water had leaked into the fixtures causing internal corrosion and short-circuiting.

Finished photos are at the bottom.

We started by cleaning and disassembling the fixtures completely.  The original finish was stripped, all damage was repaired and the metal was polished in preparation for the re-finishing process.  The desired finish was a statuary bronze.  After finishing we applied a clear lacquer to protect the finish.

Among the many tasks to be performed was re-threading some holes to accept modern-day, standard screw threads, building new support hardware above the canopy, removal of many dings and dents, providing new bottom globes and side shades, half of which had been replaced with an assortment of different, inappropriate pieces, repair of two of the support loops, which had been damaged during an earlier attempt at disassembly, probably by maintenance personnel.

Depicted below is a period photograph of the space, which helped us to determine the appropriate finish and glassware.

Fixture dimensions are 36" in diameter and 48" tall.  Finished photos are below.