Restoration Project, 2004-2007

From March 2004 until January 2007, the National Park Service conducted a major restoration of the historic house, grounds, and caretaker's cottage at Cedar Hill. During this time, the house was temporarily closed to visitation and the collection was moved to an off-site facility. Upon completion of the project, the collection was moved back into the historic house, and the house was reopened to the public.

At a cost of $2.7 million, the project ensured that the site and its resources will be protected for this and future generations. The work that was completed during the project included:

 

Contractors install reproduction wallpaper in the east parlor at Cedar Hill.

NPS

• Replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units
• Design and installation of an environmental monitoring system
• Window repair
• Shutter replacement
• Completion of a historic paint and wallpaper study
• Installation of circa 1895 reproduction wallpaper
• Painting of the interior and exterior of the historic house to its circa 1895 appearance
• Mold remediation
• Design and installation of a fire suppression system
• Rehabilitation of the park road and parking lot
• Replacement of underground drainage pipes
• Assessment and partial conservation of the historic book collection
• Exterior painting, window rehabilitation, and roof replacement on the caretaker’s cottage

 

Why Did the NPS Paint the Exterior Beige?

The National Park Service (NPS) Historic Architecture Program in Lowell, Massachusetts, completed a paint analysis, which found that Frederick Douglass had the house painted a dark beige color around 1892-1893. The NPS restored the house to this color so that it more closely matched the house's appearance around the time of Douglass's death in 1895.

 

After the project, objects from the collection were moved back into the historic house and exhibited there.

NPS

 

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  Preservation

  The historic house and landscape have been protected for more than a hundred years.

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  Cedar Hill

  Cedar Hill was the name of Frederick Douglass's estate in Anacostia.

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  Collections

  The site cares for thousands of original objects that belonged to the Douglasses.