A new art and architecture pop-up store is coming to a ground floor space of the Gallery Bethesda apartment building.
The store will feature items collected during Chuck Wagner’s more than 25 years in the roofing business as well as frames and art created or collected by master gilder and frame conservator William Adair, who owns Gold Leaf Studios.
Wagner said Thursday the pop-up store, Architectural Elements, plans to hold a grand opening June 18 and then will be open on the weekends and by appointment for at least 90 days.
Wagner, who owns the family business Wagner Roofing, has picked up items ranging from crests to mirrors—many of which feature the distinctive green patina of oxidized copper—as his company has replaced aging exterior roof features with new versions on hundreds of historic buildings throughout the Washington, D.C., region.
Inside the shop Thursday, Wagner showed off items including copper crests from the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and a bird house with a lead roof built with a piece of scrap from the roof of the Washington National Cathedral.
Wagner, a self-described “junker,” says last year he handed off the reins of his company to a new CEO and has had more time to work on projects in which he is interested. This store, he said, is an opportunity for people to learn about the work roofers do as well as show off and sell pieces from his burgeoning collection.
“I walked around the garden today and said, ‘Some of this needs to go,’ ” Wagner said.
The idea for a store came about after a discussion with the owners of Gallery Bethesda, according to Wagner. He said the apartment building’s owners had struggled to fill the retail space and together they arrived at the idea of turning it into a sort of architecture and framing gallery.
The space is located in a somewhat hard-to-find location on Auburn Avenue, next to Steamers, and near the main entrance of Gallery Bethesda.
Adair is also bringing a number of his frames, gold-leaf covered doors and bronze seals to display in the space.
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Architectural exterior accents on display inside Architectural Elements. Credit: Andrew Metcalf
