North Adams Church Restores Stained Glass Window
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The distinctive rose, or circular, window in All Saints Episcopal Church is back in place after three months of reconditioning and repairs.
First installed 77 years ago last month, the frame holding the 13 stained-glass pieces in place was showing the signs of significant deterioration.
The Rev. Mary Curns said gaps were noticeable in the frame and pointed out by Junior Warden Al McLain
"Inside there were a couple spots and he said when he put is knife — his 6-inch knife — it went through to the shaft," she said last week as the window was being reinstalled by Stained Glass Resources Inc. of Hampden. "With all the wind you get in the wintertime, it just comes down this valley."
McLain said the wooden frame had rotted. "I think there was a little bit of work done on it 20 years, just to try to get it by," he said.
As junior warden, McLain is responsible for tracking the condition of the building. He began investigating options a couple years ago for the window created by Charles J. Connick Studio and said he was appreciative that the vestry was willing to invest the $94,000 to make it happen.
"I talked to the vestry about it and I was really surprised that they were willing to go forward," he said. "I really appreciate everyone's support."
Some $51,000 so far in donations, largely from a bequest and a few other donors, has been put toward the restoration.
The window is a gift from the Gallup family, which had contributed much to the 1850 church. William Arthur Gallup, president of Arnold Print Works, was elected to the vestry of what was then St. John's in 1875 and had been treasurer, clerk and junior and senior warden before his death in 1930. His wife, Florence Houghton Gallup, daughter of the city's first mayor, had ordered the "preparation of a handsome stained glass memorial window to the church" for her husband prior to her own death in May 1939, according to the North Adams Transcript.
Their son, William Albert Gallup, followed through with the window and had it dedicated to his parents in November 1939.
Created by Charles J. Connick, the window is believed to the last piece he personally worked on. According to the historical notes kept by the church, "He considered it his finest piece of work."
McLaren and Curns are hoping to find the receipt for the window at some point as documents are archived, especially with those from St. Mark's, which merged with St. John's six years ago.
The archives at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which holds the Connick records collection, indicates the glass cost all of $3,500 back in 1939, with Harvey Gallup providing the scaffolding to put it in place.
Connick opened his Boston studio in 1913 and left it to his craftsmen upon his death in 1945. It produced more than 15,000 works until its closing in 1986. His work can be found in Pittsfield's St. Charles' Church and at St. John's Episcopal Church and the Sprague Mausoleum, both in Williamstown. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts also has window in what had been Mark Hopkins School that was dedicated to the school's Principal Donna D. Couch.
The rose window was removed in early August and a plywood wood wall put in place. That was removed last week when it was time to put the window back in.
Wade Webb, site foreman for Stained Glass Resources, said a new wooden frame was subcontracted out to a woodworking firm that does worked for the stained glass restorers.
"It's a double-glazed mahogany frame ... it's reconfigured a little bit to fit the quarter-inch plate glass," he said. "We have the same configuration of the stained glass but it's rabbited to fit the new plate glass. ... Being mahagony, the frame will probably outlast a lot of stuff."
An earlier attempt to preserve the window used Plexiglass attached to the exterior to protect the stained glass. The new frame was built specifically to fit the protective exterior plate glass.
Although the glass itself was in good condition, there was some buckling and pieces were removed and completely releaded.
"Basically the whole window gets taken apart, we disassemble the whole window and rebuild it on a tray," said Webb.
Each section was prepared to fit into the frame and new stabilizers installed. The entire installation project took about three days.
Stained Glass Resources has been around about 30 years and offers restoration, repair, replacement, recreation as well as window design and fabrication. Webb said All Saint's rose window was a "pretty good-sized' project for the company but noted it was small compared to some of the major works it's handled, including designing an entirely new stained-glass window wall for one church.
"They did a good job for us," said McLain.
All Saints has a number of historic windows, including several more Connicks, Tiffanys including the large angel window behind the alter and a number from England. Those, too, will likely need some restoration in the future.
The church suffered a devastating fire almost two years in the attached parish hall that took more than a year and $1 million to renovate and upgrade. The church itself was spared but had to be closed for a time and its ability to serve the community curtailed.
"I'm just glad we were able to get it done and we were able to get the support of the congregation and vestry to do it," Mclain. "We're just trying to keep the church going as a community center and to do that you have to maintain your building ... everything is so expensive, it's amazing what things cost."
Tags: church, historical building, historical figure, restoration,
