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July 16, 2026 • Brown Brothers

Old-Growth Wood Emerges During Brown Brothers Door Restoration

Craftsman sanding a historic wood door on a worktable.
A craftsman sands a historic interior door laid flat on a worktable, gradually removing old finish layers.

At the Brown Brothers Building, historic interior door restoration is revealing the quality of the original material beneath decades of paint. Once the paint was removed, crews found an earlier darker finish, which is being carefully sanded to reveal exposed wood with tight, closely spaced growth rings.

Historic door being sanded to reveal original wood grain.
The restoration work continues across the door panel and surrounding rails, revealing contrast between old finish and exposed wood.

Those rings suggest slow-grown, old-growth lumber—material that likely came from larger, more mature trees than what is found in much of today’s lumber. Its density, stability and character make the doors worth preserving, not replacing. Each careful pass prepares the wood for refinishing while keeping an important piece of the building’s historic fabric intact.

Close-up of sander revealing wood grain on historic door.
A close-up view shows the sander moving across the door rail, exposing lighter wood beneath the darkened finish.

Learn more about the restoration plans for the Brown Brothers Building. 

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