HISTORIC ORNAMENT PRODUCTS

Dura Art Stone's portfolio of successfully completed projects, extending nationwide for over 80 years, bears witness to our European heritage and focus on architecturally unique and structurally complex uses of Architectural Precast Concrete, Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete, and Glascrete, a proprietary simulated concrete material. Dura Art Stone traces its history to 1935 when Bruno Mariani, an accomplished Italian model maker and craftsman, quickly established himself as a leading source of Ornamental Cast Plaster and Cast Stone in San Francisco, CA. One of Bruno’s early works at the Pulgas Water Temple in Redwood City, CA, completed in 1941, remains beautiful and functional to this day. Please use our Architectural Precast link below to view our gallery of significant projects.

From its turn-of-the-century factory in Nevada, Missouri, the W. F. Norman Corporation still operates machines as old as the company itself. Production methods remain the same as the early days with sheet metal panels stamped one at a time on antique rope drop hammers, resulting in better quality control than modern hydraulic presses. Using original dies from 1898, the W.F. Norman Corp. Hi-Art® product line contains 140 steel ceiling design components and over 1,300 ornaments. Their growing popularity stems not only from nostalgia but from their beauty, permanence and economy. William Franklin Norman founded the W. F. Norman Sheet Metal Manufacturing Company in 1898. In 1978, grandson Franklin Norman sold the business to Robert Quitno. It is still run today by Bob’s family.