Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club Unveils Mural Restoration to Commemorate 20th Re-Opening Anniversary (United States)
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Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club Unveils Mural Restoration to Commemorate 20th Re-Opening Anniversary (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States - Industry economy
vRenovation / Addition
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2012-12-07
Artists Robert Schott & Tom Stovall Logged Over 600 Man Hours to Bring the Original 1925 Paintings Back to Life.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Renaissance Vinoy® Resort & Golf Club re-opened in 1992 fully restored and returned to its rightful state of glory. To mark the 20th anniversary of this special occasion, the legendary property tapped renowned Florida muralist Robert Schott along with Tom Stovall, to bring four original murals from the original Pompeii Room, now known as Marchand’s Bar & Grill, back to their prime. Located between the clerestory windows, the murals were previously covered up with protective panels but have now been fully restored.
Featuring vertical designs of leafy vines and vases, the restoration was no easy feat for Schott and Stovall. When the murals were uncovered, they discovered the plaster was in poor shape and large parts of the mural had completely disappeared. It is estimated the artists logged over 600 man hours, using eighteen different color variations, six styles of paint brushes and over 150 feet of tracing paper.
Stovall, who led the mural restoration in 1992, luckily kept his original receipts that detailed most of the color names and numbers. However, when he returned to the same Devoe Paint store, he discovered the paint formulas had changed in the past 20 years. Thanks to the helpful staff, they were able to dig up the original paint swatches and worked with the warehouse to match the colors. The previous base color was not available but luckily Schott found a precise match after trying only three samples.
Many tools were used to bring the murals back to life including a regular hair dryer that helped the paint dry faster while keeping it from smudging when adding additional layers of paint. The team used tracing paper to copy the existing mural. The wall was then re-plastered and repainted exactly as it had been, using twelve types of acrylic paint which gave the fruit true-to-life color. They also utilized a process, pioneered by Hitch Roney in 1992, to burn the design into a silk screen, some as large as 4 ft. by 4 ft., which acted as a template.
The re-opening of the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in 1992 was a momentous occasion that not only brought an abandoned hotel back to life but helped spark a revitalization of the downtown St. Pete area. In addition to the restored murals, guests can marvel at the carefully preserved Mediterranean Revival architecture such as the lobby’s original vaulted ceiling, quarry glazed tile floor and Pecky cypress beams as well as the barrel ceiling, arched windows and detailed plaster in the Grand Ballroom.
THE RENAISSANCE VINOY® RESORT & GOLF CLUB is the only historic luxury resort on Florida’s west coast that boasts a private 72-slip marina, 18-hole private golf course, 12-court tennis complex, 5,000 square-foot fitness center and more. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the seven-story hotel is ideally situated on the water in downtown St. Petersburg overlooking the Tampa Bay. Originally opened in 1925, the hotel blends modern elegance with its Mediterranean Revival architecture as seen in the recently renovated lounge-like lobby featuring bold colors and custom-made artwork from Dale Chihuly and Renee Dinauer. All 347 guestrooms have been updated to feel like personal retreats with luxurious amenities such as pillow top mattresses, Frette linens, flat screen TVs and more. With over 61,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space, five restaurants, a salon and day spa and amenities that cater to leisure and business travelers, coupled with the destination selling points, the hotel is St. Petersburg’s premier four-diamond resort. The Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club is a member of the Historic Hotels of America of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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