Renovating a Landmark
Original article published by VMSD
With art by Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh, antiques previously owned by Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon, and jewelry previously owned princesses and Popes, shopping at M.S. Rau is like walking through a world-class museum where the exhibits are available for purchase.
In 2016, third-generation M.S. Rau owner Bill Rau purchased two additional buildings adjacent to the existing gallery of four connected buildings, enabling them to nearly double the size of their gallery to over 40,000 square feet.
The new buildings were more than 200 years old and had fallen into a state of disrepair, with portions of the buildings in such poor condition that one could fall through the floor if they weren’t careful where they walked.
M.S. Rau partnered with our firm, Truitt | Brand Design, lead designers on the project, and Architects Office of Jonathan Tate, as well as Impetus (previously Palmisano Construction) to renovate the new buildings, combining them and joining them to the existing galleries.
