Folklife Festival and the Artisans

The White House - summer of 2025

“People are often curious about what it’s like to be different in the trade, but honestly, once you’re on site, it all comes down to what gets the job done,” Brianna said. “The stone doesn’t care who you are, as long as you show up, care about what you’re doing, and put in the effort.”

To be honest, I had no idea there were still stone masons in existence. I was under the mistaken belief that they had been phased out during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. But here I was being schooled by a modern-day stone mason.

Actually, Brianna Castelli is known as a Restoration and Conservation Mason or Heritage Stonemason, and she is very good at her trade.

Brianna Castelli taking questions from the audience

These are the craftsmen who focus their attention on repairing, preserving, and restoring historic or damaged stone structures. Their knowledge and expertise are not just in handling the various tools needed in stone masonry, but they have to understand the original construction techniques and methods used during the time of the structure they are repairing. It is as though they have to utilize their equipment as if that building were being built in the present day to exact specifications.

Lots of hands-on activities for guests at the Folklife Festival

My lovely wife, Laureen, and I had been walking through the Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the week-long 4th of July celebration when we entered an area featuring the Building Trades. There were large exhibits discussing the history and current state of various hands-on trades, and it was fascinating.

Brianna was busy discussing her trade with a group of visitors. With a gentle nudge of a wooden mallet, she easily and cleanly chipped off a rough edge from a large piece of granite with a medium-sized chisel. The cut was perfect, and she talked the entire time.

Brianna Castelli showing off her skills at the Folklife Festival

I can’t talk while I shave, or Laureen may have to phone for the paramedics.

Not only did we find Brianna a very talented artist, but also an inspiration for anyone looking to go into the building trades.

It turns out that Brianna had never thought of going into a construction trade. No, her focus was on going to college.

“I was always told to go to college,” Brianna said. “I had no idea what I wanted as a career, but I knew college was the way to go.”

That did not turn out the way this young lady had planned. She moved to Philadelphia, where her brother was living, and took a job as a barista at a coffee shop. Then she learned that because she was from out of state, the college tuition was going to be based on that fact.

“When I found out that my tuition was going to be more expensive because I was not a resident of Pennsylvania, college was not a possibility,” she said. “Though I still had no idea what I wanted to do for a career.”

Working as a barista, Brianna came into a myriad of customers, and one day a fellow told her she should contact the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers union. She did and learned they had openings for an earn as you learn apprenticeship.

“Stone masonry,” Brianna said, “I never even heard of such a thing, but once I got into the union, which they paid for all my training, minus dues, I knew I was hooked. Forty-five hundred hours of internship taught me everything I needed to know about this wonderful craft of maintaining and repairing historical structures here and around the country.”

Turns out that the union that took Brianna on as an apprentice may not have known at the time that their pupil would soon be working on restoring the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., after the devastating earthquake that shook the nation’s capital to its knees in 2011.

National Cathedral currently under reconstruction

“I have a five-year job here,” Brianna said. “What an honor to assist in repairing such an iconic structure. It is a privilege just to be climbing the scaffolds on a daily basis and using the skills I learned from my instructors to ensure this building will be here for many generations in the future.”

Scaffolds? I asked her about that.

“I have no fear of heights, and when I’m on top overlooking the gorgeous scenery surrounding our capital, I feel as though I have the best job in the world.”

Brianna, along with all the rest of the craftsmen working on the National Cathedral, deserves our respect and admiration.

There are a lot of various crafts on display at the Folklife Festival

It is these artists who will allow the rest of us to enjoy for decades what was built in the far past to remind us of our present.

For more information:

https://www.si.edu/250

https://nwfolklife.org/programs/

John can be contacted at: beyersbyways@gmail.com