Restoration Reconsidered: Historical Accuracy of the Kitchen at Adena, a Federal Period House Museum

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Fred Rhodes
dc.contributor.programMA in Historic Preservationen_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-08T16:26:43Z
dc.date.available2016-04-08T16:26:43Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the role of standards, decision processes, and professionalism in contemporary restoration practice as a preparatory step to reconsidering the kitchen at Adena, a Federal Period house museum. The thesis surveys recent historical research as it relates to the accuracy of previous restorations of kitchens from this period and evaluates the demands of modem interpretive themes for re-restoration. The thesis demonstrates the difficulty of making restoration decisions with scant physical evidence and offers a process for contemporary practice. The thesis includes seven chapters. Chapter II traces the origins of restoration philosophy and the evolution of contemporary restoration practice in the United States. Chapter III reviews the historical background and physical aspects of kitchens from the Federal Period and explains why early restorations lack historical accuracy. Using case studies, chapters IV and V analyze contemporary practice by comparing present-day re-restorations at the Octagon and Monticello with their previous campaigns. Chapter VI evaluates the historical accuracy of the 1953 restoration of the kitchen at Adena and offers three options for the treatment of the building fabric, dependent on further investigation. The findings support the suppositions that the requirements of interpretive programs initiate re-restoration campaigns and that restorers seek physical evidence to justify altering the building fabric in order to comply with contemporary standards. The central question of the thesis was how are restoration decisions made and what constitutes conclusive evidence under contemporary practice. The thesis determines that restoration decisions are based on informed probabilities or proven facts, depending on the reasoning process used to evaluate the evidence. Evidence is conclusive only when it is used to deduce a fact. The thesis concludes that the best contemporary practice requires careful record keeping, thoughtful use of all sources of evidence, and acknowledgment of the reasoning that leads to decisions.en_US
dc.format.extent232 p.en_US
dc.genrethesesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/M2P454
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/2748
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtGoucher College, Baltimore, MD
dc.rightsThis work may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.
dc.subjectInterior architecture -- Ohio -- Conservation and restorationen_US
dc.subjectHistoric buildings -- Ohio -- Conservation and restorationen_US
dc.subjectKitchens -- Conservation and restorationen_US
dc.subjectAdena (Chillicothe, Ohio)en_US
dc.subjectAdena State Memorial (Ohio)en_US
dc.subject.lcshHistoric preservation -- Theses
dc.titleRestoration Reconsidered: Historical Accuracy of the Kitchen at Adena, a Federal Period House Museumen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
MAHPthesis_SmithFred_2004.pdf
Size:
63.98 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.6 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
MAHP_SmithFred2004_permission.msg
Size:
98 KB
Format:
Unknown data format
Description:
Download

Collections

Goucher College MA in Historic Preservation