14 Nov St. Luke’s restored windows gleam
Earlier this month, HBI staff went out to Roxbury for a site visit to Ionic Hall and to check on the status of the nearly finished and restored St. Luke’s Chapel. On the grounds of the St. John St. James campus that is also home to Ionic Hall (1801), St. Luke’s Chapel (1903) is nearing the end of a four year long rehabilitation that has restored the sanctuary space with a fully accessible basement that now holds bathrooms and a kitchenette.
We were on-site for a meeting with some potential partners concerning the re-development of the adjacent Ionic Hall, but as luck would have it, we were also present to see the final, beautifully crafted stained-glass window installed in St. Luke’s. The project has been managed by Doug Manley of Spencer Preservation, with an Executive Committee chaired by Byron Rushing and Bill Parnell of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. On-site with us was the General Contractor, Gerard O’Doherty and his colleague Jay Conlon. As we held our breath, Gerard and Jay hefted the large and immeasurably delicate window up the interior scaffolding and expertly fitted it into place.
Restorationists at Serpentino Stained Glass believe that either Frederick Crowninshield or G. H. Hallowell was the artist who designed the windows. As St. Luke’s was originally designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, they believe the artist responsible was likely Hallowell since Cram was known to have a close relationship with him, and even funded Hallowell’s study tour in Italy around the turn of 20th century. All of the windows had exhibited lead deterioration, lead fatigue, deflection, and cracked or broken glass. Serpentino Glass removed all the windows, and cleaned, releaded, and repaired them in their studio.
The window in question prior to it’s removal and restoration.
It was truly a gorgeous final touch by Serpentino Stained Glass, and only one of three stained-glass windows in the chapel. The remaining historic leaded, diamond lattice glass windows were restored to their former glory and installed earlier this year. The stained glass window in question was the only “memorial” window in the chapel and its preservation is a historic accomplishment. It features two angels, designed and fabricated with opalescent glass and multiple layers, with a memorial dedication to Lydia Lyman Paine at the bottom.
Our phones were incapable of capturing the full wonder of these windows with the sun shining through, but we’ll be sure to follow up with a professional photographer’s eye and resources to capture the magic that we couldn’t.
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