The real centerpiece of the Richfield First Ward is its beautiful stained glass window. This window is so magnificent that it once graced a cover of the Ensign magazine:
Unfortunately, since the sale of the building, the window is suffering, and it's pretty obvious.
There are several concerns. The window is not protected with any kind of barrier--it's exposed to the elements; any thing that hits the window could shatter the sensitive glass.
Over time, the lead the holds the panels together can soften and become loose, allowing panels to fall or become askew. This happens to all stained glass windows; they need maintenance and upkeep.
As you can see, a closer look is even more discouraging. Panels have fallen out and are wedged at the bottom of the window, where they fell. Other panels are still in place, but are crooked or about to fall. Grime is present along most of the edges of the lead. The lead itself is clearly loose in several places.
Of course, the main question becomes: who's to blame? It might be a little bit of everyone's fault. In conversations with the owner, it's clear that it was never clearly established who was in charge of the window. Some felt that it was indicated that the Church would do this and still have ownership of the window; others have pointed the fingers at the owners. No one is sure who's in charge, so the window suffers. I really hope that this window can be preserved--it is one of the loveliest examples of Latter-day Saint stained glass in the Mormon corridor.
Just guessing: Even though very beautiful, the Church likely let this stained glass window be sold with the building because there are no recognizable LDS symbols or images in the window.
ReplyDeleteThat may be a reason, although it's still disappointing if that's the case!
DeleteIt is beautiful, and this website makes it sound so sad about the windows, but it is no longer a church, it is privately owned. It serves another purpose now and I am sure they have spent a vast amount of money on upkeep on things other than the stained glass windows. They surely do not have the finances the church has to upkeep every single thing. Still a beautiful, historical building, now a wedding, reception, event center and photography studio.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am trying to say is that there is no blame. It is what it is. The building is still there, and wonderful history, but why are we trying to place blame on who should be upkeeping the windows?
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I definitely didn't mean to make this post sound like a witch hunt. It is important to me to track down why the window isn't being maintained so I can have all of the facts (I research LDS Stained Glass--it's what I do). It may be that the current owners are in charge and can't maintain the window, but from my conversations with the owner, that isn't the case.
DeleteI think it's important to know how it ended up in this condition so we can avoid this situation in the future and preserve more of our Mormon culture and heritage--not to boycott the Church or a reception center. I hope that makes sense.