Making Meaning: Restoring the Conservatory Roof

By Kai Walther, Development Manager

We’re in our preservation and restoration project era. Almost as soon as the ironwork was complete, craftspeople from Wagner Roofing started working on the Conservatory roof restoration. German emigrant and historic craftsman Otto Wagner founded Wagner Roofing in 1914 at 2906 Evarts St NE in DC. The company has since moved to a larger facility in Hyattsville, MD. (To learn more about the difference between preservation and restoration, see this blog post by Preservation Director Dan Rudie).

We’ve been dealing with leaks from the Conservatory roof with increasing frequency over the past few years. Thanks to a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, we received $109,620 towards fixing it. This process includes removing the aging, rusty, and corroded tin covering, adding a water shield made of rubberized asphalt membrane, and then soldering (or binding together) copper sheets on top of the water shield. 

Image of Wagner Roofing craftspeople removing the tin roof covering to reveal wood underneath.

There’s not much information readily available about the craftspeople who built the original glass dome Conservatory roof in 1894, but we do know that in May 1923, the glass dome was replaced with a wooden ceiling and flat tin-covered roof by contractor James T. Kenyon. Kenyon was born in Virginia in 1873 and his business was located at 827 14th St NW. We don’t know why the Heurichs made the decision to replace the glass roof, but it could have been related to climate control (it’s a lot of work to regulate the temperature of a room with a glass roof) or the Knickerbocker Theatre disaster, in which the year prior, the roof of a movie theater in Adams Morgan collapsed under multiple feet of snow, trapping and killing nearly 100 people. 

The Conservatory roof being restored today is likely the same one that was installed in 1923, as the materials used are consistent with that time period. However, the Columbia Historical Society, which had its headquarters at the Heurich House 1956-2003, possibly had parts of the roof redone in the 1980s. We have photos of people working on the roof but don’t know exactly what they did, or why. 

Why does it matter who built the original Conservatory roof, who replaced it, or when and why other roof projects were completed?

While much of the Heurich House’s history is connected to the people who lived and worked in the home, there would be no place for them to live and work without the people who constructed, repaired, and maintained the building itself. The various projects we undertake to preserve and restore the historic home, from the Conservatory roof replacement and lighting upgrades to the addition of a modern HVAC system, all impact how people experience the space today. For example:

Is it safe for visitors to walk through? Will water drop on their heads? Can they see inside the rooms? Also, what about the historic objects in the space that serve as tangible connections to people in the past? Are they safe from humidity, pests, wind, and water? How does the condition of the furniture influence our understanding of people who used it in the past?

1963 memo from Seal & Company, Inc. to the Columbia Historical Society for electrical work.

Furthermore, the historic craftspeople responsible for construction, preservation, and restoration of the house each have their own stories and trajectories that brought them to 1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW. They, along with the household staff members, Heurich family, friends, and others, all play an important role in the house’s history. By learning about these people and the work they did, we can gain a more complete image of the house’s use through time.

Preserving the physical house helps us learn stories of people in DC who came before us. Sharing their lived experiences helps us think more critically about the world around us today.

During the Conservatory roof restoration process, we’ve seen multiple days of massive leaks.

To resolve this, we need to repair the rest of the roof - a project that will cost close to a million dollars. We need your help.

Leaks on historic furniture, rugs, and tapestries will be much more damaging than leaks on the Conservatory’s tile floor. As a museum, we have a responsibility to our collection and visitors to create a safe, clean, stable environment for learning.

We need your help to continue preserving the home and stories within! Please make a donation today - every amount helps.

Image of makeshift setup to catch leaks in the Conservatory, May 2026.