" The McLellan house built in AT no one is a national historic landmark that's just undergone an eight point six million dollar restoration. Let's meet chief curator Jessica nickel and get a look insight. Hello how are you Jessica. What McClellan house thank you so much it's a pleasure to be here. Now there's so much to see and talk about here but I know that this is the third component in the entire museum complex so tell us a little bit about how network."

" problems in -- artists and interesting continuum of buildings we -- in the earliest building which is a federal era house built in the 1800. It is physically adjacent to a grand set of -- art galleries built in 1911 and they attached to. An IM Pei designed building that was opened in 1983."

" And so the McLellan house in a way really is the root of the institution in terms of the old city here. That's absolutely true now the restoration. And I should call it restoration right."

" Yes yes it well we purchase a preservation project -- we are restoring it to the first moment of its. History 1800 has a history of habitation right through the nineteenth century that we chose not to show it and it's. Victorian -- but rather to complete the architectural setting wooden furnishings that would be appropriate to. The moment when it was built."

" And the moment is that the federal period the new republic. For the first 2030 years of the life of our country. And it coincides with what they called neo classicism so a lot of the detailing that we see here is kind of classically based tell me about the --"

" The wallpaper is an American made wallpaper but in the French style. And it is a reproduction specifically of -- paper that was hung in -- house in Sutton Massachusetts in the 1792. -- horizontal seams you can see horizontal seams one of the things that was a revelation in this project is that commercially manufactured reproduction -- papers have achieved an exquisite quality of the -- faithful reproduction with. -- print design on joined sheets of paper but they're not custom made for the museum there something that anybody -- in order commercially available. Now though the wainscoting is all the original the original wood carved wood right it is and it is painted the original color the only explicit evidence that we had for what the house looked like was in the paint colors than they have been. Faithfully recreated break down those beautiful mahogany screening that we discovered and scientific analysis of the painted surfaces."

" And of course this really catches your businesses. Floor cloth throughout the entire. Center hall."

" And this is -- oil cloth which really is like nineteenth century linoleum. We have very good evidence that there was a floor cloth like this in the house it's it's kind of hinting at wood grains may look like the illusion of a parquet or marquetry floor. Now this is a flying staircase yes and as was often the case of staircases most significant architectural feature in the interior. -- only thing was imitated many times over Portland homes and has been. Carefully preserved in this restoration project it's amazing but without headlights interrogation of operating the master carpenter who worked on -- hi Bob and."

" Thank you now. There's more to it than just the flying staircase in this steps underneath there's this whole landing and it's all about struck. So did you take all the apart we disassembled it completely. Numbered and labeled all of the parts and what mistake story can then started with the structural repairs on we kept the balustrade off the despair. While the construction was under way to protect it as much as anything else but also to give us access to the ceiling work now structurally what did you have to do the staircase itself what we did was we beefed it up with LVLs laminated veneer lumber for. The stair stringers were less than five inches square and that was not nearly enough. Wood for a public space is now public space absolutely but it is very very -- yes it really was quite -- when we started you could really jump up and down now this is -- mahogany isn't it yes it is -- Santa Domingo mahogany. Now what other elements had to be restored appears the news that the palladian window yes the palladian window was totally rotted. It really had to be disassembled. All the partly brought back to the shop and then chemical conservation was done. On all of the wooden elements before they were reinstall there also had to be some brick work done because the arch was collapsing on the whole thing was really coming how many years have you been working. Started in 1976. -- congratulations but Jessica where to next a luxury the parlor."

" Well there's a bright green you have in here is something I guess in a room this size you can carry it off."

" It is a large space it's almost thirty feet long we have about twelve and a half foot ceilings in here."

" And what richness of detail now they've agreed actually is a color that is similar to it."

" Mount Vernon the dining room Mount Vernon which was decorated in the late 1780s this was a surprisingly popular color in this period and I don't know if you noticed that this is not -- it's actually wallpaper look at that so these were squares of paper and this is against that -- is still available. It is this is a modern reproduction as are the other wallpaper elements. Let's talk about the actual. Architectural elements I mean that cornice has so many different parts to it yeah and I think as you look at the woodwork all around you see the importance of classicism in this period and the organization crown molding what -- settling in all of its details derived from classical vocabulary and we've used that as our guide and the other decorating choices in this room."

" Yes so they're Grecian motifs but. In terms of the symmetry of the room what you call it a little bit Georgian it is on the torch back that guess that we came in through that orbit this doesn't go anywhere."

" Now some good good -- this is actually a false story that's here purely for the purposes of symmetry but it has been faithfully reproduce right down to the carved wooden hinges and the expensive hardware I mean this this is real silver plated English hardware -- they spared no expense in this house period accounts report it costing about 20000 dollars which would have been an enormous sum in 1800 it was a trophy house."