My son in law has owned his own masonry company for the last twelve years, so I asked him if he ever employed any blacks. He has not. He said that not one black has ever even applied for a job with him. He has no idea why.
He’s been doing masonry work his whole life and has never worked with one.
My point exactly. 45 years for me. And I’ve met some great trades people of color over the years. Never a stone Mason. Ever.
Each stone was struck by a chisel for numbering, dismantling, palletizing, brought to Philadelphia, and reconstructed on a new foundation and basement in Philadelphia. The timbers of flooring also came. The roof was to me slate and copper of local sourcing. New roofing timbers.
The trucks began to arrive with the loads of stones. My boss hired Italian stone masons that mostly do 18th and 19th century churches. They had the whole thing up in two weeks, including horsehair plaster coat on the inside walls. Most beautiful work I've ever seen. My job was to just haul away scrap material and trash, both inside and out. Not one building inspector or code enforcement guy showed up at all. I think they knew better. I had never seen that before either.
All the estates in the area were built with local stone. This one large cottage stands out in a ruddy pink stone. It looks so out of place. Then when you appreciate the history and craftsmanship, it's beautiful as an odd duck.