I don't think it was for public use. Benches in parks and on sidewalks are usually very heavily built, as they don't know who will be sitting (or standing or dancing) on them. Pretty sure it was for home use!

This could be anywhere from the '50s on ... possibly even earlier, although the style seems mid- to late-20th century. Very pretty!

Thanks, Chibimimi. We were thinking '40s or '50s. Should have asked when we bought it!

You can sand it & spray paint it any color you want. It could be from 1 of many catalogs that you can get, I knew a lady that got over 100 of them .I've seen an assortment of lawn furniture in them. So I doubt it is antique, they were usually very heavy, yrs ago. Might want to use a primer to help keep it from rusting before you finish coat it.

It is very heavy and solidly built. We were thinking of some kind of baked on finish that would last years.

Take it to an auto body shop. They will be a beautiful finish on your bench.

/tricia

That's what I was thinking. Maybe racing stripes? ;)

Sorry it didn't look heavy, but looks can deceive! Sounds like a quality piece. Either auto body or place that coats iron fences to last a long time. Auto body might do a better job if they use right kind of coating!! Pieces I had seen were probably copied from older pieces & much lighter weight as postage is high!! Show us the piece when finished!! Enjoy!!