Master Craftsman — Est. 1981
Historic Doors
Steve Hendricks, Founder
Kempton, Pennsylvania
(610) 756-6187
Domain Authority
Steve Hendricks founded Historic Doors in Kempton, Pennsylvania in 1981 and has spent more than four decades building what is, by any reasonable assessment, the most specialized and authoritative custom wood door practice in the United States focused on period-authentic historic work. His client list tells the story: Princeton University, Yale University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, Vassar College, Bryn Mawr College, Catholic University, the Second Bank of Philadelphia, the Berks County Courthouse, Bryn Athyn Cathedral, and the Plaza Hotel in New York City. These are not clients who accept approximation. They are the stewards of buildings where the door is a primary architectural element and where anything less than period-authentic craftsmanship is immediately visible.
Hendricks published Historic American Doors: Drawings from the Historic American Building Survey in 1996 — a compilation of more than 200 measured drawings from the HABS collection that has become a standard reference for preservation professionals analyzing historic door fabric. He teaches Building Craft: Wooden Doors and Entryways for the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, offering AIA-approved health, safety, and welfare credits to architects. He received the Palladio Special Award for Craftsmanship in 2016 and the Trumbauer Award for Architectural Arts and Craftsmanship in 2022 — both among the most respected peer-reviewed recognitions in traditional and classical architecture practice. He has been featured in Traditional Building magazine's podcast series and profiled in The Washington Post and The Seattle Times.
The measure of domain authority in a craft discipline is not self-description. It is who trusts you with their most consequential doors. By that measure, Steve Hendricks is the preeminent living authority on historic and period-authentic wood door restoration and fabrication in the United States.
Four Decades of Specialized Practice
Steve Hendricks was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy from Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylvania in 1977 — a background that shaped his understanding of architectural history and proportion. After several years as a carpenter focused on technically demanding projects, he formed Hendricks Woodworking and increasingly concentrated on entryways and complex joinery. He renamed the company Historic Doors and built it into a family business now in its fifth decade of operation. The shop fabricates entirely in its Pennsylvania workshop using local craftsmen, providing complete design and fabrication services from initial consultation through measured drawings, engineering, fabrication, and optional hardware machining and finishing.
Publication — Historic American Doors
In 1996, Historic Doors compiled and published Historic American Doors: Drawings from the Historic American Building Survey — a reference containing more than 200 measured drawings from the HABS/HAER collection documenting American historic door and entryway design across periods and regions. The volume was revised and updated in 2024. It is cited by preservation resources and building-dating guides as a primary analytical tool for understanding historic door fabric and has become a standard reference in the field. Hendricks also authored "Sacred Geometry," published in the journal New Philosophy (Swedenborg Scientific Association), examining objective beauty, proportion, and geometry in architecture — originating as a keynote lecture at Bryn Athyn College's presidential inauguration in 2009.
Teaching and Professional Leadership
Hendricks teaches Building Craft: Wooden Doors and Entryways for the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA), a course offering 2 AIA HSW continuing education credits to architects and designers on the specification and construction of period-authentic wood doors. He is a member of INTBAU (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism), situating his practice within the international traditional architecture community. He was the keynote speaker at Bryn Athyn College's presidential inauguration ceremony in 2009. He has been featured in Episode 38 of the Traditional Building podcast series — "Period Authentic Doors with Steve Hendricks" — and has been profiled as a specialist by The Washington Post and The Seattle Times.
Craft Capabilities
Historic Doors works primarily in Spanish cedar, mahogany, white oak, teak, walnut, and other species appropriate for exterior doors, with a range of hardwoods and softwoods for interiors. Technical capabilities include mortise-and-tenon joinery, stave-core construction to control wood movement, curved woodwork including elliptical and half-round fanlights and Gothic tracery, a library of period-style molding profiles, and the use of boatbuilding adhesives and epoxy edge-coatings for durability. The shop's philosophy explicitly defines "historic" as honoring the best from the past while remaining relevant for the future — a preservation-aligned position that distinguishes it from purely reproduction-oriented work.
Awards and Recognition
Historic Doors received the Palladio Special Award for Craftsmanship in 2016 for the Chara Aurora Cooper Haas Pipe Organ Facade — one of the most respected peer-reviewed recognitions in traditional American design practice. The firm received the Trumbauer Award for Architectural Arts and Craftsmanship in 2022, sponsored by the ICAA Philadelphia Chapter, for the same project. Both awards specifically recognize excellence in traditional and historic-minded design and craftsmanship, directly aligning with preservation priorities. These peer-reviewed endorsements from within the traditional architecture community constitute the strongest possible professional validation of the firm's mastery.
Notable Clients
- Princeton University — Princeton, New Jersey
- Yale University — New Haven, Connecticut
- University of Notre Dame — South Bend, Indiana
- University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Vassar College — Poughkeepsie, New York
- Bryn Mawr College — Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- Catholic University — Washington, D.C.
- The Plaza Hotel — New York City, New York
- Second Bank of Philadelphia — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Bryn Athyn Cathedral — Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
- Berks County Courthouse — Reading, Pennsylvania
- Glencairn Museum — Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
- Monroe County Courthouse — Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- Fire and Police Museum — Superior, Wisconsin
Awards and Recognition
- Palladio Special Award for Craftsmanship, 2016
- Trumbauer Award for Architectural Arts and Craftsmanship, 2022
Publications
- Historic American Doors: Drawings from the Historic American Building Survey (1996, revised 2024)
- "Sacred Geometry" — New Philosophy, Swedenborg Scientific Association, 2009
Heritage Relevance
Historic doors are among the most visible and most frequently compromised architectural elements in historic properties. When a historic door fails — through rot, structural failure, or the well-intentioned but misinformed decision to replace it with a modern unit — the loss is immediate and visible to anyone who knows what they are looking at. The reverse is equally true: when a historic door is correctly restored or replaced in kind, the building reads correctly. Steve Hendricks and Historic Doors exist at exactly this intersection — bringing 40-plus years of specialized practice, the largest published collection of HABS door drawings, and a track record at the most demanding institutional clients in American preservation to the challenge of getting historic doors right.
Sources
- Historic Doors — Official WebsitePrimary institutional source for company profile, services, project list, and contact information.https://www.historicdoors.com
- Steven Hendricks — INTBAU Member ProfileDocuments Palladio Award (2016), Trumbauer Award (2022), HABS publication, and institutional affiliations.https://www.intbau.org/members/steven-hendricks/
- Building Craft: Wooden Doors and Entryways — Institute of Classical Architecture and ArtICAA course listing confirming Hendricks as instructor for AIA-approved continuing education on historic wood doors.https://www.classicist.org/calendar/courses/building-craft-wooden-doors-and-entryways/
- Period Authentic Doors with Steve Hendricks — Traditional Building Podcast, Episode 38Featured podcast interview on period-authentic door construction and Historic Doors' practice.https://www.traditionalbuilding.com/period-authentic-doors-with-steve-hendricks-episode-38
- "Sacred Geometry" — New Philosophy, Swedenborg Scientific Association, 2009Published lecture on geometry, proportion, and architecture delivered as presidential inauguration keynote at Bryn Athyn College.https://swedenborg-philosophy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Hendricks_Article-New_Philosophy_July-December_2009.pdf