George Washington's home on the Potomac River has been transformed into a construction zone. As of Nov. 1, Mount Vernon will be largely closed to the public amid its in more than 150 years, at a cost of $30 million.
The 290-year-old mansion is in rough shape, having come loose from its foundation. "Essentially, the mansion was sitting on termite shields," Douglas Bradburn, president and CEO of Mount Vernon, tells the , noting "lateral winds could knock it off its foundation." Though the grounds, Washington's tomb, and the living quarters of enslaved people will remain open to the public, two-thirds of the house will be closed off until 2026 amid the next phase of the restoration project that .
Visitors this month have been treated to workers in hard hats and "the sound of hammers, drills and the beeping of construction equipment," the reports. Over the coming months, the house will be reattached to the foundation with new sills made from Mount Vernon's oak trees and salvaged 18th-century oak; crumbling stone walls will be re-created with the same kind of Aquia sandstone initially used; floorboards will be cleaned and replaced; and the basement will be restored to appear as it did when the enslaved Lee family lived there, the reports. "It's some of the most important work that's ever been done at Mount Vernon," Bradburn tells the outlet.
"This is a 300-year-old wooden house that was never intended to last 300 years, was never intended to have a million people a year going thro.