For 30-plus years, Thompson has put his hands to a plane, saw, hammer, chisel, and more in order to bring back a historic structure to its authentic, original state—or to precisely replicate a building lost to time and neglect.
On a blustery day in early May on the quiet shores of Rodanthe, North Carolina (located on the Outer Banks), Christian Thompson tediously hand cut and fit individual cedar shingles to replace those missing from a 19th-century lifesaving station cookhouse.
Projects like the cookhouse often take several months because of the minutiae involved. His precise tools enable him to accomplish the tedious hands-on skills. If he does not already have the right tool, he sketches what he needs and finds a tool maker to replicate it, such as “a custom knife that will achieve a molding’s exact profile,” Thompson said.
“I found a molding plane recently that I’ve been looking for, for 30 years. It was a profile that was common from 1800 to 1840—a complex molding plane. I have had knives made to replicate it, but wasn’t able to find the exact tool that I needed for certain door profiles and three-quarter panel moldings. But then I was at an antique tool show and a dealer had it.”
In fact, a “good day” for Thompson is when he stumbles on an 18th- or 19th-century tool. “Antique tools are constructed better than anything you can get today, and they give you that period look.”
At his home-based workshop in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (near the site of the Wright brothers’ first flight), Thompson has a collection of at least 50 old molding planes as well as sundry specific tools needed to accomplish specific molding profiles for doors, sashes, trims, and more.
A native of Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, Thompson grew up surrounded by history. Couple that with a father who recognized in his son an innate bent toward handcraftsmanship.
“I whittled, made wooden forts … didn’t matter what it was. I just liked doing things with my hands. So, after high school, he enrolled me in the North Bennett Street School in Boston,” Thompson explained. “It’s the oldest trade school in the country. They steered me towards their preservation department. I had worked on some historic projects and really liked them, so I decided to focus on preservation.”
Thompson thrived at North Bennett, graduating 32 years ago in Boston’s Old North Church, where graduation is still held today.
“It’s a phenomenal school, and I was taught how to do everything from the original principles; the teaching covered every aspect of traditional construction, 17th century through modern day, and how all the construction types evolved,” Thompson said. “I learned classic architectural drafting, how to do traditional trims and moldings, Palladian-type scaling of buildings and furnishings—so much that is lost in construction today.”
Thompson took his skills to the Washington area, where he worked full-time on historically significant buildings. A few landmarks his hands have touched include the Decatur House (circa 1818) on Lafayette Square near the White House; Lincoln’s Cottage (circa 1842); Arlington House (circa 1802–1818), and many more.
But after the hustle and bustle of D.C., Thompson decided to move to the more remote and much-less-developed Outer Banks, a 100-mile-plus narrow island where maritime historical structures are prevalent. “I had vacationed in the Outer Banks for many years and had enough of D.C. Even the busiest time in the Outer Banks is not anywhere near as busy as one day in the D.C. area.”
While his projects are less noteworthy now, they are still preservation worthy. He can be found most days determining which tools and old-world processes must be used to restore and preserve.
He knows when something doesn’t need to be thrown away and replaced. “I have a hand in preserving history so that the structure can live on.”
Before picking up any sort of tool, Thompson does his research. He first studies “the details of the hands” that worked decades or centuries before him. He is able to determine slight idiosyncrasies in individuals’ craftsmanship techniques.
“I find out all sorts of interesting connections to history.”
Thompson peruses photographs, records, and architectural drawings, then develops a plan of action. “Once I put my hand on it, I realize someone in the future will assume I was accurate in everything I did. I have to do things right.”
The project he deems his “legacy” involved exactly replicating the circa 1917 Wash Woods Coast Guard lookout tower on Carova Beach on the Outer Banks. It was destroyed in a 1933 hurricane. Funded by local real estate firm Twiddy & Company, the construction of the 45-foot lookout tower involved Thompson working for a year and a half to build it.
“It required at least 10 different custom profile [tools] … unbelievably intricate.”
Thompson admitted that he never tires of the fascinating aspects of his work, sharing: “I don’t think I will ever retire. It’s not a lucrative career, and I don’t care about accolades. I just like knowing the buildings might survive another 100 years, until someone like myself works on them again.”
