Preserving George Washington’s Home
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is one of our nation’s oldest and most significant historic house museums. The National Historic Landmark site welcomes over a million visitors a year. We have worked with the museum for over two decades on projects large and small that upgrade the visitor experience and enhance stewardship of the property.
Using both historical building techniques and state-of-the-art computing tools, we have reconstructed lost buildings, revitalized historic ones, and inserted back-of-house infrastructure. Our most important accomplishment is a comprehensive digital model of the Mansion and grounds that guides the preservation of George Washington’s iconic home.
We are very pleased with the level of service and outcomes of our work with Quinn Evans over the past two decades, and are glad to continue our collaboration with them in our most important efforts.
A Presidential Legacy
The home known as Mount Vernon was constructed in 1734 by Washington’s father. Washington took over the estate in 1754 and by 1799 had slowly enlarged that small home to create the Mansion that stands today. The Mansion and a portion of Washington’s lands have been open to the public since 1860.
Historic Building Information Management (HBIM)
We developed an HBIM system that integrates a comprehensive 3D model of the Mansion building and GIS model of the grounds with historic features documentation within a single interface. This multidimensional digital tool informs preservation planning and decision-making for the site.
Distillery
Like the treading barn, Washington’s distillery had been lost. We worked closely with historians, archaeologists, and craftsmen to recreate it using 18th-century construction techniques. With active stills, the building is a setting for living history interpretation of whiskey production.
Treading Barn
Our first major project at Mount Vernon was the award-winning reconstruction of the treading barn. Washington designed the innovative 16-sided structure himself to simplify the processing and storage of wheat. We recreated the barn according to his original plans and specifications.
