AdammsGallery

New Stained Glass Window for Woodlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum, Santa Monica, CA

  

 We have been working at Woodlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum for about 30 years. Until now all the work we have done has been stained glass restoration, repair, or installing exterior protective glazing. The Mausoleum has a separate room with a series of bronze and glass displays that are meant for urns and personal memorabilia. All thew other rooms of the mausoleum have decorative stained glass windows, but this room only had a clear glass window. Unfortunately, the view to the outside was a work area that had sand, co0ncrete, and worktables. It was not a very pretty view. The management thought it would be well served if they co9missioned us to fabricate and install a new stai9ned glass window to liven up the room and block the unsightly view.

               
 

     We discussed what their needs were and made several suggestions as to type of glass and subject matter for the design. They already had a rug, and painting that they wanted to coordinate the window with. Since the majority of the 8' x 12' window was going to be behind the display boxes we proposed a rectilinear design for that part. The design would work with the rectangular shape of the displays, and help keep the cost down to fit within the budget.  We decided to use glass manufactured by The Paul Wissmach Glass Company in Paden City, West Virginia. The green opalescent glass is accented with some deeper greens and a subdued yellow.  For the top portion that would be above the boxes we opted for a design of six white doves flying around three palm trees. The sky is also cut in a rectilinear pattern with deeper blue accents. We painted the detail in the doves as well as the palm trees.

                  

     The window itself is composed of six panels. The bottom has three panels with the two outside panels 20" wide and 8' high and the center 48" wide and 8' high. The top section has two smaller operational windows and a center window that is 48" x 40". The installation went very easily with the storefront metal molding snapping into place, and the vinyl strips for securing and weather proofing the windows.

     The window does exactly what the management intended. It blocks the dismal view, and adds a calming beautiful feeling to the room. The glow put off from the opalescent glass is very comforting. It is always nice to work in the community, and work with the city of Santa Monica. Thanks to the staff at Adamm's Stained Glass Alberto Marquez Stained Glass Glazier, Mary Orrell painter, and Jose Ceja glazier installer, and myself Adamm Gritlefeld.

Historic "California Springtime" Memorial window Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, CA

    

 

Our latest restoration work at Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery is the beautiful "California Springtime" window. This window was installed in the mausoleum in 1927. It is comprised of 9 separate panels installed in steel T bar 3 panels wide and 3 high, and is 6' wide and 11 feet tall. Some time ago the window was dual glazed with 1/4" plexiglass on the exterior. The exterior glazing had become very hazed over the years, and after we finished the restoration we installed 1/4" tempered glass as a protective layer.

                                                                                 

     Our restoration process began with removing the individual panel, boarding up the opening with plywood, and transporting them to our studio in Santa Monica. Once in the studio we soaked the panels in water to soften up the putty. The next step was to disassemble the panels and clean them.

                                                        
            
                                                                   cracked  glass                                    Glass showing half cleaned with Kaboom

     In all there were about 65 broken pieces that had to be replaced. These were color, and texture  matched, painted and fired. The painting work done by our glass painting artist(Mary Orrell) was unbelievable, but standard work for Mary. Even to a trained eye you couldn't tell the difference between the original and painted pieces. One difficulty we had was in cleaning the glass. At first, as recommended by the Department of Interior Guideline, we used clear water. When that had no affect we went to ionized detergent which also had no affect. Next we went to paint thinner, and  alcohol, Nada. So after serious thought, we tested a small spot with "Kaboom" the bathroom shower cleaner. Kaboom removes scaling and water stained. After 90 years, and decomposing bodies, there was a very heavy oxidation build up on the interior of the windows. Originally, before there was air conditioning in the mausoleum, ventilation was provided by open decorative concrete screens, which opened to the outside. Of course being near the ocean didn't help the situation very much. Well, "Kaboom" really did the job. It removed the oxidation fairly easily, and left us with a very translucent painted glossy glass. We originally thought that the glass was more opaque and flat rather than glossy. It is amazing how beautiful the window is.

    After we cleaned the old glass, and had the replacement pieces we leaded up the panels and installed. Then, of course, we installed the 1/4" protective tempered glass. I'm sure you will agree that this is a very special window.

     We are anxious to continue on with the remained of these beautiful historic windows.

    

Historic Stained Glass Restoration-Woodlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum Santa Monica, CA

                                                                                        

 

For the past 30 years or so we have been doing restoration and repairs to the stained glass windows at Woodlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum in Santa Monica, CA. I have always considered it on honor to work on these magnificent stained glass windows. Especially since Woodlawn Cemetery is the final resting place of many  of Southern California’s most well-known historical figures. These include. Leo Carillo, Glen Ford, Barbara Billingsley,Paul Henreid, Doug McClure, Jesse Unruh, and Abbott Kinney the founder of Venice, CA. Some of the windows we have had to remove and restore while others have only needed cleaning, minor repairs, and or reglazing. We recently completed what was going to be a relatively minor repair. There were five badly cracked pieces in three panels of a nine panel stained glass window. The procedure was to remove the panels and board up the openings with plywood. Then we would reproduce the broken painted pieces, and replace them in our studio. When we removed the panels and inspected them it was evident that there had been many poorly done repairs to the panels over the years. This was not evident at the original inspection as the window had an exterior protective acrylic panel over it, and we couldn't properly inspect it. The repairs had been completed from the outside. Probably prior to the installation of the acrylic, which was now badly crazed.

 

                   

             Broken Piece                          Mary Orrell Painting
                    

                      
      Firing Glass in Kiln                             Leaded up pane                                          

     With the discovery of the true condition of the window the Cemetery staff agreed that we should completely restore the panels. The first thing we did was to make a rubbing of the panels so we could assemble the restored glass. Next we would disassemble the panels, clean them, and duplicate the broken pieces. Our wonderful painter (Mary Orrell) did as fabulous job recreating the original style. With the number of repairs it was difficult to ascertain the exact colors of the original window, so we kept the same texture and color of the broken pieces.                     

     After Mary was finished painting and firing the glass we leaded up the panels, soldered them, and finally glazed them. The installation went well, although we found that at some point the exterior glazing in the the panels was replaced with wooden molding that was glued in place. We decided to glaze the windows with metal sash putty as they were when they were first installed. In our survey of all the windows in the Mausoleum later we recommended that this be the standard procedure on additional restoration.

                      
                Glazing in Panels                             Finished and installed

   At a later date we will replace the old crazed exterior acrylic with tempered glass.

Restoring Stained Glass Windows at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery and Mausoleum Santa Monica, CA

                                                                              

Over 20 years ago we were asked to restore the Sunrise window at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery and Mausoleum in Santa Monica. The window had lost most of its glazing, and was severely bowing. We removed the window to our studio, releaded it and added proper reinforcing bars to  support it. Since that time we have been regularly working at the Cemetery, repairing and restoring their magnificent windows.

     A few months back I stopped off at the Cemetery to say hi and ask if any of the windows needed our attention. I was asked to inspect the windows and give an evaluation. They were interested in adding protective glazing on the outside of the Sunrise window, and replacing many of the previously installed protective acrylic that had severely hazed over. These acrylic panels had been installed before we started working at the Cemetery.  I worked up a proposal and they gave me a call a few months later. The scope of work at this time was to remove the exterior tempered glass from another window(Tree Window), and clean the gnat nests and spider webs. They also asked us to reputty and clean the Sunrise window and add protective tempered glass on the exterior. The preferred product for protective covering of stained glass windows is tempered glass rather than acrylic.

     An interesting fact we discovered is that the decaying bodies in the mausoleum create a smell that attract gnats, and corpse flies. The gnats built nests between the stained glass window and the exterior glazing. As it turned out cleaning the gnat nests, and the spider webs was easy once we removed the sections of tempered glass. The spiders set up their nest outside the gnats nests to catch their prey. Aside from some minor stains in the exterior glass they looked as good at when they were installed.

 

          

       Tree Window Before Cleaning   

                                                                              Tree Window After Cleaning

After we reputtied the interior and exterior of the Sunrise window everyone was shocked at how much more light came in and how translucent the glass really was. For the first time since any of the employees could remember you could see the trees and bushes on the outside. They often use the area just inside the  Sunrise window for services, so they were very happy with the "new" look. On the exterior we added aluminum extrusions on two sides and sealed the 1/4" tempered glass. The window itself is made with hand blown German antique glass, and glass Dales pieces cut in small cubes.

                                                           

Now we are waiting for the new fiscal year to complete the remainder of the windows.

Adamm's Stained Glass is an art glass studio in Santa Monica, CA