Original Ramon Lago Dove Sculpture

Reading, PA

Cast Stone Institute 2024 MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE Award Winner

This project is a restoration and cast stone replication of a historical 7′ long Dove sculpture for the city of Reading, PA. The original sculpture was created by world-renowned Cuban American sculptor Ramon Lago in the early 1970s.

An architectural conservator carefully restored the original Dove’s details. Once restored, we created a complex rubber mold system along with a keyed and segmented concrete backer mold to hold the rubber mold in proper position during casting. The design of the Dove created extreme molding challenges, as the tail and wings are separated from the body of the sculpture. This created conditions in which the tail and wings had to be supported in “mid-air” within the mold cavity. Our complex molding technique allowed for a perfect replication.

The original sculpture construction was comprised of chicken wire, fiberglass and concrete. Cast Stone was chosen to replicate the sculpture to make it much more durable, while still maintaining the creativity and craftsmanship of the original sculptor.