Last updated: April 19, 2021
Article
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Transformed Preservation Work
In March 2020, our lives changed forever. Businesses ground to a halt, schools shut their doors, and people across the country struggled to understand and adapt. Daily operations at the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) also changed drastically.
HPTC preservation specialist crews deployed to national park sites across the country were forced to stop mid-project and secure historic sites under their care as best they could before returning home to Frederick, MD. For months, crews planned and prepared, ready to return to the incredible sites desperately in need of their historic preservation skills.After months of careful consideration and a lot of planning with the HPTC safety officer, some crews were able to return to the field, but forever, their work had transformed. New policies were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These included:
After months of waiting, plans were put in place to allow crews to return to project sites that were farther away. These plans included regularly testing staff, taking temperatures every morning, limiting travel when on site, and getting workers vaccinated as soon as possible.
Itching to get back to Fort Christianvaern, crews were approved to travel back to the site to continue their work in early October 2020. Immediately, crews picked up right where they left off, repairing the exterior stucco walls, door and window jambs, openings, and other masonry surfaces.
The repairs addressed approximately 2,700 square feet of masonry stucco walls throughout the fort. The traditional lime paint used over the course of the fort’s history was replaced with a potassium silicate paint system. The silicate paint is anticipated to last 10 years; a vast improvement over the lime paint cycle, which was 3-6 months.
HPTC preservation specialist crews deployed to national park sites across the country were forced to stop mid-project and secure historic sites under their care as best they could before returning home to Frederick, MD. For months, crews planned and prepared, ready to return to the incredible sites desperately in need of their historic preservation skills.After months of careful consideration and a lot of planning with the HPTC safety officer, some crews were able to return to the field, but forever, their work had transformed. New policies were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These included:
- Wearing cloth or surgical masks at all times (unless the work required more intensive breathing PPE),
- Practicing social distancing of 6 feet whenever possible
- Limiting sharing of hand tools and other items
- Conducting disinfection of high touch areas (doorknobs, light switches, tools) multiple times a day, and
- Building and setting up mobile hand-washing stations.
After months of waiting, plans were put in place to allow crews to return to project sites that were farther away. These plans included regularly testing staff, taking temperatures every morning, limiting travel when on site, and getting workers vaccinated as soon as possible.
Itching to get back to Fort Christianvaern, crews were approved to travel back to the site to continue their work in early October 2020. Immediately, crews picked up right where they left off, repairing the exterior stucco walls, door and window jambs, openings, and other masonry surfaces.
The repairs addressed approximately 2,700 square feet of masonry stucco walls throughout the fort. The traditional lime paint used over the course of the fort’s history was replaced with a potassium silicate paint system. The silicate paint is anticipated to last 10 years; a vast improvement over the lime paint cycle, which was 3-6 months.

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