A Seamless Juncture: New Construction in a Historic Setting.

When creating and building new masonry structures in Kansas City proper , it is extremely important to make certain that existing ones are complimented. It is vital that the historical character of a property be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features that characterize a property should be avoided.

Respect for the original architectural design or architect must remain steadfast. Great care needs to be taken to ensure that new construction shall be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion to protect the integrity of the property and its environment. The new construction must be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and candor of the historic property would be unscathed. Kansas City has a long history of great architects , such as Shepard, Farrar, and Wiser; Alice Walton; Edward Delk; Root and Siemens; Smith, Rea and Lovitt; Howe, Hoit and Cutler; John Van Brunt; Adriance Van Brunt; and Courtlandt Van Brunt, only to mention a few.

The Masons Co. is a Kansas City Masonry contractor whose company is built on expertise from being passionately entrenched in the trade of masonry for thirty years. High standards and an innate passion for the craft ensures a completed project that is prolific and gratifying to the homeowner or commercial property owner.

 

The Masons Co/Kansas City Masonry 

(913) 203-0685

Office Location:

The Cosby Building

107 W. 9th St.

2nd Floor

Kansas City, MO 64105

 

Check us out on the web: www.kansascitymasonryrestorationcontractors.com

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The Magic Fountain of Water Features

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it” ~ Roald Dahl

Fountains and water features are magnificent and oftentimes seem magical for those who wish to see, and yet, they are multifarious systems whose keeping presents daunting and often contradictory challenges. The play of water over sculptured forms is compelling, with its delightful operas of light and sound and cooling spray but these same features threaten a fountain’s stability.  Water erodes delicate surfaces, invites biological infestation and represents environmental conservation challenges.

Kansas City Water Features

“Just because an old fountain gives no more water, it cannot be despised because with the water it provided once, many trees grew up, many thirsty has quenched their thirsts!”  ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

Balancing a fountain’s material preservation with its operation and water conditioning needs is very complex. Kansas City Masonry, the Masons Co, works with structural and mechanical engineers, architects, owners and maintenance crews to treat deterioration and devise long term effective strategies to maintain and preserve fountains in parks, major buildings and private residences. Historical restoration and modernization are the foundation of our company’s foresight when these showpieces  are placed in our hands.

Office Location:  Country Club Plaza

KCMasonrycontractors@gmail.com

(816) 500-4198

Check us out on the web:

http://www.themasonscompany.com/

Kansas City Masonry

Brick Masonry Repair

City of Fountain Builders

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Reviving KC History With The Vanderslice

For one who indulges in a love of all historical structures constructed with brick, block or stone, reviving a masonry majestic to its former glory satiates the craftsman’s passion for stonework.

Restoring the historic Vanderslice mansion was one of Kansas City Masonry’s finest accomplishments in 2016.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the mansion was built in 1896. The red brick, three-story mansion exemplifies 19th century Queen Anne style architecture with a grandiose air and a sublime manner. It was originally built for the August Meyer family who lived there for 31 years. In 1927, trustee Howard Vanderslice arranged for the purchase of the home and surrounding 8.5 acres as a new location for the Kansas City Art Institute.

Now known as Vanderslice Hall, the building houses the college’s admissions department and multiple offices as well as serving as the epicenter for festive social, enrollment and administrative activities of the college.

With a continuous dedication and true appreciation for the craft of masonry, Kansas City Masonry looks forward to its next piece of yesteryear that is eagerly awaiting its revival.

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KCMasonrycontractors@gmail.com

(816) 500-4198

Check us out on the web:

Kansas City Masonry

Brick Masonry Repair

City of Fountain Builders

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The Art of Masonry, or the Craft.

What is an art? What is a craft? What’s the difference?

The definitions of art and craft are not uniform, but in Western Europe crafts predate the arts. A time long ago when there was a focus on the beauty in the world, and if you had the talent to make something beautiful, or at least the ability to learn to make something beautiful, you apprenticed at a trade guild. Metalsmiths, architects, weavers, carpenters, these were the artists of their time, each forming into a guild of tradesmen under a master craftsman, who designed the craft..

Masonry is the art and craft of building and fabricating in stone, clay, brick, or concrete block. Construction of poured concrete, reinforced or unreinforced. The craft of stonemasonry (or stonecraft) has existed since humanity could use and make tools- creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. They were beautiful, made to exact, repeatable designs and specifications from the master, meeting all standards set by the guildmaster, created by the craftsmen, and assisted in their craft by their apprentices. The value of it was that it was recognizable. It carried the master’s trade mark.

Medicine, while founded in science, has long been called an “art.” Likewise, the delivery of medical care is known as “practice,” though it will likely never be made perfect. Medicine is part science. Part art. The relationship between physicians and patients is at the core of healing.

Over time the world changed, and  the emphasis shifted from the work to the worker. The artwork was absolutely valuable, but more because it was a unique expression of the experiences of the artist or an interpretation of the beauty the artist saw. The crafts sliped away to be repeatable to exacting, high standards.

1.Art is a work created by the accumulation of experience, skill, expressible point of view, and is entirely unique.

2. Craft is work created by the skills and experience of a skilled artisan meant to meet and conform to exacting standards of the Master.

Stonemasonry is one of the earliest craft in civilization’s history. During the time of the Neolithic Revolution and domestication of animals, people learned how to use fire to create quicklime, plasters, and mortars. They used these to fashion homes for themselves with mud, straw, or stone, and the CRAFT masonry was born.

Check us out on the web at:

http://www.themasonscompany.com/
http://www.brickmasonryrepairkansascity.com/

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Dr. Logan Clendening Memorial Fountain. The Baker Street Irregulars

 

“Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.” This phrase comes from the first two lines of  Aphorismi , which was written by the Ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates. What he meant by these lines is:  “It takes a long time to acquire and perfect one’s expertise (in, say, medicine) and one has but a short time in which to do it.”

Much celebrated and most distinguished physician, scholar, and writer, Dr. Logan Clendening, was recently once again honored posthumously with a fountain on the campus of the KU Medical Center in Kansas City.

Two years after Logan Clendening’s untimely death in 1945, 600 people gathered for the dedication of a fountain which was placed in the KU Medical Center courtyard as a memorial to the prominent KU physician and benefactor of the world renowned Clendening History of Medicine Library. The interior wall of the fountain was inscribed:  “Life is Short – and the Art is Long to the memory of Logan Clendening, 1884-1945, from his friends.”

Sixty-seven years later, in 2014, the irreparable Clendening Fountain was dismantled and carefully placed in storage.

 

In 2016, Kansas City Masonry/ The Masons Co created, built and erected a custom fountain in front of the entrance to Murphy Hall, KU Medical’s oldest building, where the first fountain stood. The words, ‘Life is Short and the Art is Long’ is engraved into real limestone caps on the fountain. Distinctive Caduceus symbols are on each of the two columns with Scottish thistle at the top of each serpent. Custom tile adorns the fountain’s facade.

The project was a labor of pride and respect for the team. With a fierce dedication to the art of masonry and a passion for the craft’s beauty, the company took it as a tremendous privilege to have a hand in honoring Dr. Clendening as one of the ‘greats’ in Kansas City history.

Upon his death, many were saddened by the loss. “It is hard for those who knew him to realize that the blithe spirit that was Logan Clendening is gone,” the Star pondered. “No one could have enjoyed life more than he. Few have contributed more to make life sparkle for others in conversation and writing.” “It seems difficult to think of Logan as gone,” Landon Laird wrote in the Kansas City Times. “The happier imagination is that he is just around the corner, waiting to greet one with his hearty laugh and his offer of ‘Let me show you the sights around here.’” And Vincent Starrett, years later, pronounced the final word on the subject: “Logan Clendening was one of the finest human beings I ever knew.”

Kansas City Masonry/ The Masons Co is immensely proud to add the Logan Clendening Memorial Fountain to its impressive portfolio of projects. The company revels in not only being able to contribute to the historical restoration of some of region’s finest properties, but also in creating lasting tributes and timeless structures to carry Kansas City and and the city’s surrounding areas boldly and eloquently into the future.

The possibility of a future discovery in a time capsule greatly exists. Maybe the Baker Street Irregulars or Logan Clendening’s love for Sherlock Holmes will some day Reveal It…

 

 Check us out on the web at:

http://www.themasonscompany.com/
http://www.brickmasonryrepairkansascity.com/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Ry4IgCKDAOxkbkMgds5Mg

Follow us on twitter at:
https://twitter.com/Kansascitymason or @KansasCityMason