1993 El Conquistador Water Restoration
Tucson,
Arizona
In 1993 the city of Tucson contracted Robert Boucher & Associates to restore
the deteriorating plaster elements on the Historic El Conquistador water
tower.
The original plaster of paris elements were reinforced with jute
and sealed with linseed oil and painted. While this method of casting lasted 50
years, by 1993 the debris from the crumbling sculptural elements were becoming a
hazard.
The representative details were salvaged from the building,
stabilized, and the missing details sculpted and restored for use as new
patterns. The new castings were pigmented and cast in calcium silica aluminate
with fiberglass reinforcement and mechanical
anchors.
DETAILS OF THE
LOWER ENTRY
1994 RESTORATION
COMPLETED
(please note that the
patina of stain and weathering was intentionally preserved)
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