The Grimke Building — Historic Terrazzo Restoration
Rose Restoration restored the original cementitious terrazzo of the Grimke Building at 1923 Vermont Avenue NW, completed in August 2021 with general contractor Kinsley Construction, as the historic Shaw school building was reborn as a cultural and residential anchor. The century-old floor was restored rather than replaced, preserving the building's original fabric.
Related Rose Restoration historic terrazzo projects
Rose Restoration has delivered Grimke Building terrazzo restoration and related services for:
- Watergate East — Landmark terrazzo
- Smithsonian Institution — Historic terrazzo
- Old Post Office — Landmark conversion
- Terrazzo restoration — Full terrazzo services
- Historic restoration — Landmark methods
- All case studies — Project portfolio
The Grimke Building — Quick Answers
What did Rose Restoration do at the Grimke Building?
Working with general contractor Kinsley Construction, Rose Restoration restored the Grimke Building's original cementitious terrazzo, poured when the building was one of Washington's historic schools, through the renovation that made it a cultural and residential anchor of Shaw. The work was completed in August 2021.
Can hundred-year-old terrazzo be restored instead of replaced?
Yes, and at a historic building it should be: original terrazzo is part of the historic fabric. Restoration repairs cracks with color-matched resin, grinds and hones the floor flat, polishes through progressive grits, and seals, preserving the original aggregate pattern and a century of character that replacement would erase.
Who restores historic terrazzo in Washington DC?
Rose Restoration has restored historic cementitious terrazzo at the Grimke Building, Watergate East, the Smithsonian, and institutional buildings across the region, in business since 1978 with in-house crews trained on both historic cementitious and modern epoxy terrazzo. See our terrazzo services.
The Grimke Building at 1923 Vermont Avenue NW is a Washington landmark twice over: one of the city’s historic school buildings, reborn as a cultural and residential anchor of the Shaw neighborhood. When the building’s renovation reached its floors, general contractor Kinsley Construction brought Rose Restoration in for the terrazzo scope, completed in August 2021.
Project type: Historic building renovation | Material: Terrazzo | Location: Shaw, Washington, DC | Completed: August 2021 | General contractor: Kinsley Construction
A Century-Old Floor With a Second Life
Terrazzo was the institutional floor of the early twentieth century, and the Grimke’s is original fabric: cementitious terrazzo poured when the building was a school, worn by generations of students and city life. A renovation of a building like this succeeds or fails on whether that original character survives. Replacing the floor was never the answer. Restoring it was.
The Work
Rose crews restored the historic terrazzo through the renovation: grinding through a century of wear and coatings to sound material, repairing cracks and damage with matched aggregate so the fixes disappear into the original field, and honing and sealing the finished floors to a finish appropriate to the building’s era. The work was sequenced within Kinsley’s renovation schedule alongside the building’s other trades.
Why It Matters
Historic terrazzo restoration is one of Rose’s defining crafts, the same discipline we carry at the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, and the region’s landmark buildings. The Grimke’s floors now carry their second century.
Have Historic Terrazzo Worth Saving?
Call (703) 327-7676 or request a consultation. See our terrazzo restoration and historic restoration services, or the full case studies collection.