Michigan Stained Glass Census - Window Of The Month

Some wonderful, traditional, stained glass church windows are highlighted this month at the Michigan Stained Glass Census.

First Congregational United Church of Christ, Kalamazoo, MI is featured for September/October 2009. Lots of detailed information can be found on the link below.

The first couple of paragraphs describe the stained glass this way:

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Kalamazoo was organized as a Presbyterian church by fourteen Michigan pioneers in 1835, two years before the territory became a state. In 1842 the church changed to a Congregational form of government and in 1961 it affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Its fourth home, designed in an English Gothic style by New York architect Aymar Embury II, was completed in 1928 to replace an earlier1890 church building destroyed by fire in 1925.
The stained glass windows of the church were created by three studios during different eras. The earliest windows were made in the late 1920s by the A. L. Brink Studio of New York City; one window in the sanctuary south wall was designed in the 1930s by Nicola D’Ascenzo and fabricated by the D’Ascenzo Studio of Philadelphia; and the chapel windows were made during 1959, 1960 and 1972 by the Willet Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia.

For more information, click on the link below.

Pat Deere

Link: Michigan Stained Glass Census September/October Window of the Month 2009

Window Of The Month

Cathedral of St. Paul, Detroit, MI.
Built 1911. Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, architects.

The following information was taken directly from the Michigan Stained Glass Census web site. For those of you who only hear bad things about Detroit... think again. There are so many treasures, like this one, that people really need to hear about. Click on the Window Of The Month link on this blog for details and photos of the windows.

Many of the early Episcopal churches in large cities possess a who's who of the late 19th and early 20th century world of stained glass. The Cathedral of St. Paul in Detroit is no exception. The building was designed (1908-1911) by Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, the famed Boston architectural firm. Architect Ralph Adams Cram is said to have planned the overall theme for the stained glass windows, which eventually included the participation of several fine American and European studios: Charles Connick; J&R Lamb Studio and the William/Henry Willet Studio; from Germany, Mayer Studio; and from England, Powell & Whitefriers and Heaton, Butler and Bayne. St. Paul’s was designated a state historical property in 1980 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This location is the administrative home for 97 Episcopalian congregations throughout southeast and mid-Michigan, supporting 15 Diocesan-wide social service agencies/programs and chaplains at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Hope you are having a happy Monday!

Pat