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First Baptist Church of Los Angeles Stained Glass Restoration

                                                               

   The First Baptist Church of Los Angeles is a magnificent church. The church is located at 760 S.Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles. The present location was built in 1927. It's magnificent sanctuary ceiling was patterned after the chapel of the Ducal Palace in Mantova, Italy. It seats 1,950 and is one of the most beautiful in Los Angeles.The 1980s brought to FBC a designation by the City of Los Angeles as Historic Cultural Monument No. 237 in 1981, and FBC hosted the Baptist World Alliance in 1986 where former president Jimmy Carter spoke.

     Part of the church is the Moore Prayer Chapel. It is a relatively small chapel with two beautiful stained glass windows each of which is 32" x 72" tall. The windows are predominantly blue being composed of various shades. The windows are etched and painted. The use of both hand blown glass and machine made cathedral glass is marvelous. Some of the glass is variegated (streaky clear and blue glass) with black painting in a flowing design. As often happens, the reason we were called is because of vandalism to the windows. Unfortunately both windows were broken in at the lower of two panels.

            
            

           Before Restoration                                                                   Completed Restoration                                                      

                                                                                                                  

     We were able to find exact replacement glass (Lambert antique for the hand blown, and Kokomo variegated for the cathedral). Our fabulous painter, Mary Orrell, did a fantastic job in replicating the original artists work, and both Alberto Marquez, and Armando Aleman performed their usual magic. I could not tell the restoration from the original, and yes the church was thrilled. Now we will be installing protective glazing on the exterior. This will be 1/4" clear tempered glass installed with circulation vents at the top and bottom to prevent any heat damage to the stained glass.

Restoring Stained Glass Windows at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, CA

           
          J.S.Bach Window before                           J.S. Bach After Restoration  

              

              Door Stained Glass                      Martin Luther Window

Having been located in Santa Monica, CA.  since 1978, and locally since 1972, we have been called upon to restore the stained glass of many local churches, and synagogues. We have worked for Pilgrim Lutheran for over 30 years, mostly doing repairs. Now we have begun a more in depth restoration. We are also updating, and adding to the current protective exterior glazing.

     The current home of Pilgrim Lutheran Church was dedicated in 1953. The more than 50 stained glass windows were hand crafted in Belgium. All the glass is hand blown "antique" glass, whose natural imperfections add to their dazzling beauty. The windows illustrate Biblical scenes, and the life of Christ.

     The church sits on the corner of 18th street and Wilshire Blvd. and gets a considerable amount of foot traffic. For this reason protective acrylic was added to the exterior in the 1970's. Over time the acrylic has hazed and discolored. We are currently replacing the acrylic with 1/4" tempered glass, and adding tempered glass protection to all the windows facing 18th St. We are also repairing, and restoring many of the windows that have suffered damage over the years from vandals, athletics(the church is also hoime to a school), and heat.

     Since the glass is European hand blown glass we have so far been able to get exact matches using Lambert German antique glass available through Bendheim Glass, in New Jersey. Our expert glass painter Mary Orrell, has been exceptional in her restoration abilities, and has provided a flawless recreation of the original pieces. In addition glaziers Alberto Marquez, and Armando Aleman have been doing an impeccable job with the removing, restoration, and installation of the windows. Indeed the Pastor and members of the congregation couldn't be happier. I must also add that they are a true pleasure to work for.

    Check back throughout the year for updates on this project.

 

Stainerd Glass Window Restoration - First United Methodist Church Santa Barbara, Californiqa

First United Methodist Church
of 
Santa Barbara

     We continue to work on these beautiful windows. They were created in Germany. and installed in 1927. The painting is truly magnificent, and our glass painter Nancy Cox, is doing a wonderful job recreating the broken pieces. Painting is a pain taking process, especially when you are copying the work of an artist from the early 20th century.

    Whenever we restore historic windows we attempt to preserve whatever glass we can. We also use matching lead profiles  when we assemble the window. Fortunately we use DHD metals in Conyers, GA. They have an unsurpassed assortment of  all types of lead came old and new, This makes my life much easier. Of course if we ever run into a profile that they do not have a new dye can easily be made.

     The process of restoring historic windows involves following the guidelines of the Department of Interior. These set standards for releading, gluing,replacing, reinforcing, painting, and many more facets of the restoration process. Firstly of course, we carefully remove the windows and transport them to the studio in crates. Then before we disassemble them we make archival rubbings for the church to keep on file. These would be used as a cartoon pattern and,are essential in the event of a fire or other disaster that may destroy a window.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Then we begin the disassembling process by soaking the window in water to soften the old putty. This allows us to more safely take the window apart, without breakage.

 

 

 

 

archival rubbing                                                                                                                        `                                                soaking

                

 

 

                                                                                        first firing in kiln of painted pieces

The next step is to disassemble and check for pieces that may be glued, or need to be replaced. If they need replacement they are set  aside and duplicated. The final step is painting and then firing in our kiln at 1250 degrees F. This fuses the glass paint to the glass. 

 

       Then we begin the building process. Cleaning the pieces, leading up the window, soldering, puttying, and finally cleaning again. Now they are ready to install. 

 

                                 

             

         Checking pieces                            leading up                                               soldering joints                                    Puttying

    

 

Two of the first 10 installed

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

Historic Stained Glass Window Restoration for Sinai Temple, Westwood, CA. USA

     We have been working on the stained glass windows at the Sinai Temple in Westwood, California for well over 20 years. The windows were originally installed in 1969. Nine years after the congregation moved from the original Sinai Temple(4th and New Hampshire in Los Angeles) in 1960. By the way we also restored  windows and the 15' skylight at the original Temple, now the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church. The Temple was the location for scenes in The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond.

                      Original Sinai Temple Skylight

All the work he have done, up until recently, was repairs to the stained glass bordering the school play yard. Then during a wind storm one of the top panels in the Kohn Chapel blew out. From 21 feet up there was no chance it would survive the fall. When I went out to the Temple to inspect the windows it was clear that they all need total releading.The windows were so weak that at some point the Temple had added heavy steel bars(2" x 3") two on the inside and two on the outside to help support them.We started with the sidelights and worked our way to the center section. Each of the four center sections was 72" x 40" . We removed all the panels , disassembled them, replaced a large number of pieces of glass( they had been repaired many times in the past and the workmanship was less than stellar,releaded, and installed. We changed the reinforcing bar placement to provide the needed strength. We used 5/8" x 1/8" and 3/4" x 1/8" bars as opposed to the 1/2" bars originally used. We used Kokomo Glass company glass to match the original glass.

                        Completely restored and installed

We also had to restore two of the larger panels in the hallway adjacent to the school play yard.

              Hallway adjacent to the School Play yard.

Good to go for another 100 years.

Restoring Stained Glass Windows in a 100 year old Church in Santa Monica, CA

 

 

 

From the outside, and much of the inside El Sermon Del Monte didn't look like much of a church. After many years of neglect the wood and stucco structure was in bad need of repair. All that began to change after the first of this year(2015).

   


 

 

I received a call from one of the elders and the pastor. They asked if I could come out and give them an estimate of restoring their 100 year old stained glass windows. The stained glass, like the structure itself was largely in very bad shape. Some of the windows had large areas where the glass was missing. Others had been repaired over the years with anything from brightly colored plastic, to badly matched stained glass. Virtually all the the double hung window sash were inoperable. Some were painted shut, while others had had the ballast cords cut.

      Because of budget restraints I bid the restoration in three stages. First restore the windows that had gaping holes, were structurally weak, and were previously repaired with mismatched glass. Then the windows that were sound, but had broken pieces, and finally repair and reputty various areas of others. We were able to get good matches on some of the glass from Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co. It was fairly obvious that Kokomo had supplied all or mostly all the the original glass. As we progressed, and the revelation of restored glass was evident,  the church members decided they wanted all the windows totally restored.

     I brought in a great handyman, Don Van Cura, to save the sash. He removed the sash, rebuilt some making new styles, and  or rails, glued, and  the restrung ballast cords. In many cases he had to rebalance the windows with added weight so they would work properly.  Don saved the church many thousands of dollars on the cost of replacing the sash entirely.

     It honestly was a very rewarding job. Working on 100 year old pieces that had been made by craftsman just like us gives one a sense of brotherhood,and a connection to a previous century. We still have some repairs and puttying to do, but for the most part the job in finished and the congregation is inspired by the new brilliance of the simple, but tasteful stained glass.

Historic Stained Glass Restoration: Wilshire Boulevard Temple

  

      Over two years ago we were contacted to bid on the stained glass restoration of Wilshire Boulevard Temple. The Temple was going through a major restoration.  The complete Temple was  being brought back to its original beauty in a 175 million dollar campaign. Unfortunately, although we were one of only three studios asked to bid the project, we were not the winners.  The Judson Studios of Pasadena, CA won the contract for the restoration.

     A year after we submitted the original bid we were called back and asked if we were interested in bidding on a project not included in the originl bid. This was the Piness Auditorium(part of the temple). Naturally I said yes, and we were awarded the contract. We completed the restoration of one of the panels from the auditorium as a sample.  With the contractor, Temple committee, and architect in approval we began the complete restoration.  In all there were 27 panels that made up three sections.  All the glass was a clear cathedral that was painted and fired. There was just enough stipple effect to make the glass look old and dirty, which cut down on the glare of the sunlight, but provided plenty of light. For the past 50 years the windows had been covered up with a stucco shell on the outside. The stucco was broken away and we removed all the windows.

Original window(The image does show the weakness of the window, with the old lead)

     The restoration followed standard Department of Interior Guidelines.  First we made rubbings of the original windows. Then we disassembled them and soaked them in water to loosen the old putty. After a night of soaking we cleaned up the glass and began releading.  We had to paint  over 30 extra pieces that had been broken over time. We used 5/8 H flat lead for the interior and border lead, and we used Wonder putty from the Atlas Putty Company for glazing.

dissassembled and soaking                                           leading up

soldering                                                                    finished window

     The installation went very smoothly, and we made everyone happy. I consider it one the the true delights of this business to be able to restore such treasures. It is an honor to have worked on this project.

    If you are ever in Los Angeles I suggest a trip to The Wilshire Blvd. Temple. The sanctuary is a true wonder.

 

Adamm's Stained Glass

1426 4th St.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

310 451 9390     www.adammsgallery.com

 

Stained Glass Restoration at Pepperdine University Stauffer Chapel

 

Ocean facing window with second row restored

 No wonder Pepperdine considers their Stauffer Chapel their "Crown Jewel".  The way the light comes through the stained glass at various times of the day creates a magical air. The chapel was dedicated in 1973, just after the University opened in 1972. All the glass used was manufactured by the Blenko Glass Co. in Milton, West Virginia. Donovan Art Glass, a stained glass studio in Burbank, CA at the time fabricated the leaded panels and installed them. It caused quite a stir then and today every visitor to the Chapel is in awe.

     Over the past 42 years the elements, and heat have played havoc on the windows. There is very bad bowing, and broken pieces exist throughout the installation.  As a remedy heavy steel supports were attached to the steel framework of the church and then the windows were glued to the steel bars. In addition a dual glazing was added to the outside. The extra protection from the windows and blowing rain surely extended the life of the windows.

     In the fall of 2012 we were asked to bid on the restoration of a single "test" panel. The idea was to see just what difficulties  would be encountered in the restoration. We won the project, and in  the early part of 2013 removed the panel and started to soak, clean, replace broken pieces, and relead the panel. We were able to get sufficient matching glass from the Blenko Glass Company to cover the broken pieces. This panel was at the bottom, and as a result had been subjected to  floor level abuse. In short there were many broken pieces.

      

        DISSASSEMBELY          SOAKING GLASS             BRACING          FINISHED PANEL

          Since the Blenko glass can be quite thick we had to use high heart lead. Some of the lead is 1 1/2" wide, while the remainder is 5/8", 1/2", and 5/16".  We were able to obtain the lead from DHD Metals in Conyers, GA., about 20 miles East of Atlanta. Of course we recycle all the old lead, which as you can imagine adds up.

     In addition to releading we also changed the support structure.  The original panels were installed with only two 1/2" vertical reinforcing bars. It was obvious that this was insufficient for the type if installation(Each panel is 6 feet x 4 feet). We used  5/8" steel reinforcing bars and bent them along the lead lines of the window. This made them vertually invisible from the chapel floor. In further panels we moved the reinforcing bars to the outer facing side. While the general rule is to put the support on the inside in this case the protection of the exterior glazing protects the bars from the elements and dirt. It also stops the wind so that the window is not pushed away from the bars. We also removed the heavy steel horizontal and vertical supports. This not only cleaned up the clutter, but really brought out the majesty of the original plan. We have thus far finished one complete row and  are half way through another.

   

Note the change in the bottom row with the vertical and horizontal supports removed.

 

     After the trustees saw what the window should look like they gave us the go ahead to restore the compete window. After this there is a duplicate window in the rear of the church.We still have a lot to do, and I will keep you informed along the way. As you can imagine it is very rewarding to be part of a project such as this.

   You can see other restoration projects we have worked on at

http://www.adammsgallery.com/31/html/repairs_restoration.shtml

 1426 4th St

Santa Monica, CA 90401

866 764 6513

 

Stained Glass Restoration-Grace Church of Orange

 

BEFORE , Note buckling, and twisted zinc came divider

Early September 2011 we(Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica, CA.) completed the restoration of the stained glass entry for Grace Church of Orange, Orange, California. We removed the entry stained glass, boarded up the openings, and brought them to our studio.

Once we had them in the studio we disassembled them removing all the leading and then cleaned the glass.The lead was a variety of 1/4", 1/2" and 5/8" wide. Many of the pieces were broken, so we either re-leaded in at the beaks or replaced the pieces completely. Matching the variety of colors was not a problem as the windows were just over 50 years old. Much of the glass we either had in stock or was easily available. We generally use Mad Dog Stained Glass(Van Nuys ,CA), or Hollander Glass(Stanton, CA) as our suppliers. However, if necessary we will use Bendheim, Kokomo Opalescent , Uroborus, or Bullseye Glass directly.

It is interesting to note that the side light panels did not have reinforcing bars. As a result the panels were creasing(bending) on the diagonal leading. When we re leaded we added reinforcing bars along the lead lines. The panels originally were installed using 3/4" zinc came as dividers. These cames did not hold up over the years and the panels were bowing and twisting from the weight.When we reinstalled the central panels we used 1" T bar for support between the panels. This relieves the pressure on the bottom panels and makes them much more sturdy. The windows cleaned up like gemstones. We were told that the congregation was greatly relieved to see the windows restored. Evidently they were very weary of walking under them with their condition being so dangerous. They were very pleased with the results, and we were very gratified .

AFTER

 

Stained Glass Restoration at the 2nd Church of Christ, Scientist Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

  

   
 
 
 

Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica continues work on the Christian Science Church at 946 West Adams in Los Angeles.  This area, close to the University of Southern California, is known as the West Adams Historical District. Currently we are continuing to work removing , releading, and installing the windows on the rotunda of the Church.  These windows are 104 feet above the ground level.  Fortunately we are using a lift to gain access to the roof and the windows.  For safety we have two sets of cables that surround the rotunda. Wearing climbing harnesses for safety, we are able to attach our lifelines to the cables during the removal and installation process.

     The 100 year old windows, that measure 44' x 84" ' acually come apart in pieces.  This is certainly not uncommon in such old windows.  The fact that these windows have been exposed directly to the elements for 100 years ceretainly explains their condition. With the window apart in pieces we load the pieces into  special crates and then lower them to the ground on the lift.  The lead is recycled.

     The restored windows are loaded into a crate that is tied to the lift and raised up to the rooftop.  Once there we are able to remove the completed window and install it in the opening.

     The windows weight 72 pounds.  The crate weighs  about 135 pounds.  With the maximum weight for the lift of 400 pounds you can understand why the lift is remotly operated to raise and lower the windows.

     We have been removing and installing the windows four at a time.  The complete rotunda has 32 windows, although half had been releaded previously.

   This is an interesting job, and the view from the roof top is magnificent.