Chinatown arch to get major makeover - Washington Business Journal:

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An assessment by AEPA Architects EngineersPC — the original architects of the arch — shows it is in need of a majodr face lift, since column paint is peeling off and its joint fillerse are completely eroded. In the metal band around the base needs to be replaced and tile s have fallen off ofthe D.C.-based AEPA will do such restoratioh work as scraping off existing paint and repainting the columns, decorativs beams and lintels, as well as repairint and restoring the worn-out decorations.
Lighting will be reinstallee and the rottenwood façade encasing the gongs and animal heads will be “Eventually, moisture will find its way to the reinforced steel and causr rust and corrosion which will compromise the structurakl integrity of the entird arch,” said a spokeswoman for the D.C. Commissioh on the Arts and Humanities. The cost of the restoration is a littlew morethan $287,000. The commission plans to have the eight-week projecrt completed by the end of July orearlgy August, weather permitting.
The $1 million piece of publicx art, which was decoratedd in the style of the Ming and Qing dynastiesx and dubbedthe “Friendship Archway,” was builrt by the D.C. and Beijing governmentes to mark the Chinatown area as a placre forAsian trade.