The $100,000 renovation of warn, stained and
damaged components of ROA’s Capitol Hill
headquarters building, dedicated on
Washington’s birthday 1968, is halfway done.
In this before-and-after photo set, stains in
the “before” (left) are disappearing in the
“after.” The cleansing involves a citric acid
solution that reaches into the limestone,
“flushes” contaminants to the surface, and is
then washed away by rain, yielding results
over time (you can see how it has already
started). By ROA’s October 2022 centennial
convention, the decades of grime will be
erased.
In the photo to the left, CSCI general manager,
Jim Donaghy does handwork on masonry
repairs – that’s right, ROA’s work is being
done by the renovation company manager
and its president, Tim McLaughlin! CSCI is the
Architect of the Capitol’s official contractor for
renovation work on congressional buildings.
Work has also cleaned all windows; removed
rust from handrails, with them painted to look
new; repaired portico ceiling cracks with the
ceiling repainted, repaired and cleaned
exterior “Art Deco” light fixtures (see photo), and cleaned and repaired all exterior “bluestone”
surfaces where needed.
During CSCI’s initial assessment of the work, ROA learned, to no surprise, that our building is made
to standards and with materials essentially no longer seen. And it will bear gleaming testimony to
ROA’s enduring value to America for many decades to come!
