John Canning Studios Explained

John Canning & Co.
Founders:	John Canning
City:	Headquarters in Cheshire, Connecticut
Website:	https://johncanningco.com/

John Canning & Co., formerly John Canning Studios, is a historic building restoration, conservation and preservation company located in Cheshire, Connecticut. It is led by David Riccio,^[1] Dorothea Hennessey, and John Canning.^[2]

John Canning & Co. has worked on historic, landmark, and other buildings across the United States, such as the restoration of decorative finishes at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium,^[3] the restoration of the ceiling mural at Grand Central Terminal,^[4] the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe,^[5] a new church in La Crosse, Wisconsin designed by Duncan Stroik,^[6] and Hulihe'e Palace on the Big Island, involving restoration of lime plaster.^[7]

History

The company's founder, John Canning,^[8] is an expert on traditional decorative painting techniques and materials and historic color palettes. Canning, a master artisan,^{[9] [10]} has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects, which has appointed him as an honorary AIA member.^[11] He is also a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (AIC).^[12] He studied at the Scottish Decorative Trade Institute, Stow College, and the Glasgow School of Art while serving a five-year apprenticeship as a church decorator in Glasgow, replicating old-world techniques and materials. After his apprenticeship, he opened a studio in Glasgow as a member of the London City & Guilds. Canning emigrated from Scotland to the United States in the early 1970s and opened a studio in Connecticut.

Significant Projects

Theatres & Entertainment Spaces

• Academy of Music – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Completed 2009)^[13]
• Radio City Music Hall - New York, New York (Completed 1999)
• Warner Theatre - Erie, Pennsylvania (Completed 2002)
• Stadium Theatre - Woonsocket, Rhode Island (Completed 2001)
• War Memorial Opera House - San Francisco, California (Completed 1997)
• Mellon Auditorium - Washington, DC (Completed 2023)^[14]
• Medinah Country Club - Medinah, Illinois (Completed 1997)

Museums

• National Building Museum - Washington, DC (Completed 2000)^[15]
• The Mark Twain House & Museum - Hartford, Connecticut (Completed 2016)^[16]
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - Boston, Massachusetts
• Hulihe'e Palace - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Completed 2008)^[17]
• Lockwood-Mathew Mansion Museum -Norwalk, Connecticut (Completed 1989; 2008)^[18]
• Taft Museum of Art - Cincinnati, Ohio (Completed 2003)^[19]

Universities & Colleges

• Sterling Memorial Library - Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut (Completed 2014)^[20]
• Battell Chapel - Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut (Completed 1980)^[21]
• Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan (Completed 2004)
• The Culinary Institute of America - Hyde Park, New York (Completed 2003)
• Building 10 M.I.T. – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Completed 2010; 2013)^[22]
• Kansas State University, Hale Library - Manhattan, Kansas (Completed 2019)^{[23] [24]}

Civic

• Iowa State Capitol – Des Moines, Iowa (Completed 2005)
• Connecticut State Capitol - Hartford, Connecticut (Completed 1998)

^{[25] [26] [27]}

• Michigan State Capitol - East Lansing, Michigan (Completed 1992;2017)^{[28] [29] [30]}
• Pennsylvania State Capitol - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Completed 1998-2004)
• Rhode Island State Capitol - Providence, Rhode Island (Completed 1998;1999;2016)
• San Francisco City Hall – San Francisco, California (Completed 1998)
• Massachusetts State House, Hall of Flags - Boston, Massachusetts
• US Treasury Building - Washington, DC (Completed 2001;2004;2006)
• United States Capitol - Washington, DC (Completed 2010;2013; 2021)
• Fulton County Court House - Wauseon, Ohio (Completed 2019; 2020)^[31]
• Connecticut Old State House - Hartford, Connecticut (Completed 1994;1995)^[32]
• Luzerne County Courthouse - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (Completed 2018; 2020)^{[33] [34]}

Other Historic & Landmark Buildings

• Grand Central Terminal - New York, New York (Completed 1997)^[35]
• Boston Public Library - McKim Building, Boston, Massachusetts (Completed 1994;1998;2004;2024)^[36]
• Washington Union Station - Washington, DC (Completed 2020;2022)^{[37] [38]}
• Steinway Hall, (now the new 111 West 57th Street) -New York, New York (Completed 2020)^{[39] [40]}
• Cosmos Club - Washington, DC (Completed 2012;2016)^{[41] [42]}
• Lenox Library - Lenox, Massachusetts(Completed 2003)^[43]

Sacred

• The First Church of Christ, Scientist, The Mother Church - Boston, Massachusetts (Completed 2018)^[44]
• Saint Mary's Church ~ Blessed Michael McGivney Parish - New Haven, Connecticut (Completed 2020)^{[45] [46] [47]}
• Trinity Church, Copley Square - Boston, Massachusetts (Completed 2006;2017;2019)^[48]
• Basilica of St. John the Evangelist - Stamford, Connecticut (Completed 2012)^[49]
• Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe – La Crosse, Wisconsin (Completed 2008)^[50]

Awards

• 2021 Preservation Connecticut Janet Jainschigg Award – Honoring Longtime and dedicated preservation professionals^[51]
• 2023 ICAA Bulfinch Award - Historic Preservation, St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish^[52]
• 2023 Preservation Connecticut Award of Merit, New London City Hall^[53]
• 2022 ICAA McKim, Mead, & White Award, San Joselito's Chapel^[54]
• 2020 Palladio Award, Mark Twain House & Museum -Mahogany Suite^[55]
• 2019 Palladio Award, Luzerne County Courthouse^[56]
• 2020 Bulfinch Award - Craftsmanship/Artisanship, Mark Twain House & Museum^{[57] [58]}
• 2020 Build Connecticut Award - Specialty Interiors, St. Thomas More^[59]
• 2018 Trumbauer Award given by the Philadelphia ICAA Chapter, Luzerne County Courthouse^[60]
• 2008 White House Recognition, Secretary of War Suite Eisenhower Executive Office Building
• 2004 Arthur Ross Award for Excellence & Leadership in the Art of Preservation & Conservation, The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art^{[61] [62]}
• 1992 National Preservation Honor Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Michigan State Capitol Restoration^[63]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Traditional Building Conference Series Speaker .
2. News: A TRADESMAN SHUNS FANCY TITLES . The New York Times . April 1982 . Rozhan . Tracie .
3. Web site: May 2024 . Renewing an Icon Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium GSA Video . YouTube.
4. News: Grand Central Connecticut firm puts new face on a national landmark . Hartford Courant . March 1997 . 1 .
5. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703701004575113632447750128?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines Leigh, Catesby. "A Return to Grace."
6. http://www.traditional-building.com/Previous-Issues-08/DecemberProject08OLG.html "Classical Shrine."
7. News: 2008-07-17 . Facelift for Hulihe'e Palace is under way . 2024-01-31 . Hawaii Tribune-Herald . 9.
8. Web site: 25 Leaders – Who's Who in Traditional Building . 14 September 2023 .
9. Web site: Master Artisan John Canning . 7 December 2021 .
10. News: A TRADESMAN SHUNS FANCY TITLES . The New York Times . April 1982 . Rozhan . Tracie .
11. Web site: Eleven Tapped for Honorary AIA Membership . February 2009 .
12. https://www.culturalheritage.org/
13. Web site: Structure Magazine The Academy of Music and it's Ballroom Restoration . November 2011.
14. Web site: Renewing an Icon Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium GSA Video . . May 2024 .
15. Web site: A Job Well Done: Artisans Who Are Redefining the Historic Trades | National Trust for Historic Preservation .
16. Web site: CT Old House, your online source for your old home, period design, antiques and folk art .
17. Web site: Hulihee Palace plans grand reopening Sept. 30 . 24 September 2009 .
18. News: Looking up at Lockwood Mathews Mansion . Norwalk Hour . 28 December 2014 . Kleydorff . Alex von .
19. News: 2004-05-09 . Making Over A Masterpiece . 2024-01-31 . The Cincinnati Enquirer . 122.
20. Web site: The Restoration of Yale's Sterling Memorial Library's Ceiling . 12 November 2020 .
21. Web site: Restoring Battell Chapel . 7 August 2023 .
22. Web site: Historic Resources: Infinitely Better—Renovation and Restoration of… .
23. Web site: 'We Are the Dream' mural undergoes restoration, hangs again in Hale Library . 3 December 2020 .
24. Web site: Mural restoration brings Hale's Great Room back to life . October 2020 .
25. News: When detail man finishes job, old buildings' glories restored . Record-Journal . November 1992 . 13 .
26. Web site: From Modest Materials, A Grand Effect . 23 February 2022 .
27. Web site: National Park Service Painting Historic Buildings: Materials and Techniques . 1993 .
28. Web site: Michigan State Capitol Commission Renewing Michigan's Capitol 2014-2016 Booklet. November 2016 .
29. Web site: Michigan State Capitol 2023 Dome Restoration.
30. Web site: Michigan State Capitol Rotunda Restoration.
31. Web site: Restoration, renovation of Fulton County Courthouse nearly complete .
32. https://oldstatehouse1.weebly.com/
33. Web site: Learn-Andes. Jennifer. An up-close view of Luzerne County Courthouse restoration. 27 January 2018. timesleader.com. 2018-03-16.
34. Web site: Inside the Detailed Conservation of a 1909 Courthouse | National Trust for Historic Preservation .
35. Web site: 8 Secret Features of Grand Central Terminal . June 2023 .
36. https://www.culturalheritage.org/docs/default-source/publications/periodicals/newsletter/04_mar_aicnews.pdf?sfvrsn=8ca603c2_11
37. Web site: Washington Union Station Statues Restored – Great American Stations .
38. Web site: Main Hall Granite Masonry Restoration Project- Union Station Redevelopment Corporations .
39. Web site: New York's Landmarked Steinway Hall Has Three Extraordinary Condos Coming on the Market . .
40. Web site: The Rotunda at Manhattan's Historic Steinway Hall Shines Again . 5 June 2020 .
41. Web site: The COSMOS CLUB Restoration of the Ballroom. March 2012 .
42. Web site: Gilded Age - Home & Design Magazine .
43. News: Cohen . Stephanie . 2003-07-05 . Hidden library ceiling restored . 2024-01-31 . The Berkshire Eagle . B1, B7.
44. Web site: Pretty in Pink: Landmark Boston Church Gets a Refresh | National Trust for Historic Preservation .
45. Web site: To celebrate Fr. McGivney's beatification, his old parish is pulling out all the stops . 26 October 2020 .
46. Web site: Catholic Transcript | December 2020 .
47. Web site: A Visit to St. Mary Church, First Parish of Blessed Michael McGivney . 7 November 2020 .
48. Web site: In a New Film, Master Artisans Share Their Passion for the Labors They Love .
49. News: St. John's marks end of interior restoration . Stamford Advocate . 6 April 2012 . Cassidy . Martin B. .
50. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703701004575113632447750128?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines Leigh, Catesby. "A Return to Grace."
51. Web site: 2021 Janet Jainschigg Award . May 2021 .
52. 2023 Bulfinch Award for Historic Preservation, ICAA New England Region
53. 2023 Preservation Connecticut Award of Merit
54. Web site: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Celebrates the 2022 McKim, Mead & White Awards .
55. Web site: 2020 Palladio Award Winners . 13 May 2020 .
56. Web site: Palladio Awards 2019 .
57. Web site: 2020 Bulfinch Award Winners . 17 March 2020 .
58. Web site: ICAA New England Announces 10th Annual Bulfinch Award Winners . 23 March 2020 .
59. Web site: Church Renovations Update .
60. Web site: 2018 Trumbauer Award Winners . 15 November 2018 .
61. Web site: Arthur Ross Awards - Institute of Classical Architecture & Art .
62. Web site: Arthur Ross Awards, 1982-2011.
63. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Publications/MichiganStateCapitol.pdf