Frank’s Story
Growing up in a working-class, Italian neighborhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Frank Genello learned the masonry trade from his father, who taught him to value hard work and a compulsive attention to detail. After graduating the University of Pittsburgh in 1975, not to be outdone by his three high achieving sisters, Frank enrolled in two consecutive Masters programs, earning degrees in Public Administration from Marywood College and Historic Preservation from Boston University.
Shortly after graduation from Boston University, Frank took a position as a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Restoration Workshop. It was here that Frank not only developed advanced restoration skill under the direction of master restoration craftsman, Joseph Chillino, but also met his wife and future business partner, Susan Buswell. Over the last thirty years, Frank and Susan have not only produced three beautiful, multi-talented, highly gifted children, but have grown ABRC into the company it is today.
In addition to running ABRC full-time, Frank has held faculty positions at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, Mass, and more recently at the American College of the Building Arts (ACBA) in Charleston, SC as a professor and founding faculty member. From 2005 to 2011, Frank developed Masonry and Carpentry curricula at ACBA and taught and developed courses in construction management, masonry, carpentry and introduction to the trades. In fact, many of Frank’s former students at the American College of the Building Arts have joined Frank on the job with ABRC after graduation.
Whether working on the construction of a new home, or restoring a centuries-old tombstone, ABRC also contracts with some of the nation’s most experienced tradespeople to get the job done right. Frank's work at ABRC allows him to pay homage to the architectural elegance of the past while adapting to a modern and every changing world.
Historic Restoration and Preservation Services
Full Service Contractor · Specialized Sub-Contractor · Preservation Consultants
Serving areas in South Carolina, New York, Virginia & Massachusetts
web design by Laura Genello