MN State Capitol Cafeteria

RENAISSAINCE ART, RESTORATION & ARCHITECTURE There is no real future without preserving our history and our culture ~ Dan Tarnoveanu

There is no real future without preserving our history and our culture ~ D.T.

MN State Capitol Cafeteria

Minnesota State Capitol Cafeteria
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Excerpts from Minnesota Monthly, July 1999: "Dan Tarnoveanu led the effort in restoring the capitol's murals to their pre-World War I glory. ...The cafeteria in the basement of the Minnesota State Capitol...is covered with murals...decorated by a team of German-American immigrants in 1905. For the past year, a crew led by architect and art conservation expert Dan Tarnoveanu has been painstakingly restoring and replicating murals in the capitol's cafeteria. The originals were covered up in 1917 when anti-German sentiment ran high. Hidden for decades under thick plaster and 20 layers of paint, elaborate cartouches, eagles, a rabbit, a squirrel, and a berry-and-ivy designs are now emerging on the vaulted ceiling....For some areas, the Romanian-born Tarnoveanu is replicating original designs with stencils...To differentiate new from restored areas, the original murals are recessed about a quarter of an inch into the original mural."

This project was comprised of two (2) phases:

1998 Phase I: Examination, Recovery and Documentation

Uncovering the original designs and colors – removing 20 layers of paint by using chemical and mechanical methods

Designing full size drawings in two sizes: 36”X 72” and 42”X72”

Matching the original colors using the Munsell color system

Photo documentation

1999 Phase II: Restoration and Replication of the Original Decorative Murals

A. Restoration: Seven original mural sections, dating back to 1907, were restored.
Restoration consisted of:

Cleaning

Filling cracks, holes and all missing areas of plaster support and paint

Consolidating of paint layers

Inpainting

Varnishing with a UV protective and reversible synthetic varnish

B. Replication: The remaining sections of the walls (where the plaster substrate was in poor condition) were replicated.

The restoration project was completed in December 1999.

This project received two (2) awards:

(1) Historic Preservation Award in 2002 from Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM); and

(2) Recognition Award also in 2002 from Saint Paul Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

BEFORE RESTORATION

AFTER RESTORATION
Visitors to the Minnesota State Capitol may now view something they haven't seen for more than 70 years: the building's rathskeller cafe -- restored and furnished to match architect Cass Gilbert's original design. A small exhibit marks the room's restoration and details its turbulent history. Visitors to the rathskeller now see reproductions of original light fixtures, chairs and tables, walls painted in warm olive brown and a stunning array of painted mottoes, scrolls, animals and vines.
(Source: http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/rathskeller.html)