Gold, Snakes, and Mother Insurance: Preservation of the 180 Wellington Building Mosaic

Built in 1927 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 180 Wellington Building’s most stunning feature is the dramatic mosaic on the vaulted ceiling inside the main entrance. Created by American muralist Barry Faulkner in 1927, the mosaic depicts “The Great Metropolitan Mother” protecting the insurer’s policy-holders. Acquired by the federal government in 1973, the major six-year rehabilitation of the building that began in 2010, included the restoration of the artistic mosaic and its nearly one million coloured tiles of glass.