The General Assembly Building at the corner of Broad and Ninth Street, reflects the historic nature of its surroundings in Capital Square. The original six-story building, constructed in 1912, has an elaborate exterior limestone façade that features three story Corinthian-style pilasters, copper cladded window bays, and ornate cast aluminum door surrounds and transoms. These architectural details allow the building’s significance to extend beyond its individual contribution to Richmond’s architectural landscape and situates the historic structure as an integral part of the streetscape to Thomas Jefferson’s Capitol Square.

For this project AAM restored the copper cladded window bays. This included restoration, marrying of new and old copper material, and re-installation of the copper window surrounds.

This project was unusual because generally, when restoring copper, it is left to oxidize and patina naturally. Per the specifications on this project, the owner wanted to seal the alloy to maintain a controlled appearance and limit the natural patina in the elements. AAM was able to use this atypical process, while still making the copper window surrounds look natural.