Restoring the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts’ Historic Front Doors

When the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, now called the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, opened to the public in October of 1933, the building was praised for its modernity, elegant simplicity, and functionality.  Designed by the New York firm Tilton and Githens, the museum’s architecture is indebted to classical Greek and Roman prototypes as well as the streamlined sensibilities of Art Deco, a style that combined geometric shapes and bold lines with high-quality materials. Representing a new approach to museum construction, the limestone façade, and galleries within had, according to one Springfield Union newspaper article, “not been cut according to a stereotyped pattern but … evolved from a thoughtful consideration of the city’s particular aesthetic needs and problems.” A central feature of the building was its inviting entryway with large, glass doors crowned by a stone relief depicting Guardians of Art by Hilda Kristina Lascari (American, 1889-1937).

The original entryway, including a bronze threshold, a stepped frame steel door, and marble floor, has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors over the course of 90 years. In 2022 alone, the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts hosted over 50,000 art enthusiasts. Having served as the threshold to popular art exhibitions on topics as varied as Japanese prints, French wallpaper, Islamic calligraphy, and American portraiture, the historic entryway is now undergoing needed restoration.

With generous support from the people of Springfield through the Community Preservation Act, the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts’ historic front doors will be restored during the spring and summer of 2023. Under the care of Savage Metal Restoration, the exterior metal framed doorways will be removed so that the framework can be refurbished, and the glass can be replaced. The steel frame of the exterior doorway, which has been painted numerous times over the years, will be finished in black to match the original design. In their restored state, the doors—with their geometric shape evocative of the skyscraper era, and a singular decorative flourish that fans out at the top center—will remain a superb example of Art Deco design.

To ensure the seamless opening and secure closure of the doors, which help to support climate control inside the building, the bronze threshold below the doors will also be replaced. Moreover, with the continued functionality and accessibility of the entryway in mind, historically accurate door hinges will be installed, and Springfield Museums’ staff will work with New England Door Closer to replace the existing door operator with an updated and more aesthetically pleasing mechanism.

Inside the entryway, three pieces of Tennessee marble, one of numerous marble varieties chosen by architects for use throughout the building, will need to be removed to properly repair the threshold. The marble will be replaced with new, matching Tennessee marble following the rebuilding of the threshold. Finally, completing a total restoration of these 1933 doors, the interior doors will be refurbished on site. In its fully restored state, the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum’s main entrance will be, once again, ready to welcome visitors of today and future generations.