122-year-old Tiffany glass window returned to Chicago church
CHICAGO (CBS) — Restoring glory to the church as a multi-panel 122-year-old Tiffany glass stained window is now back in the South Loop's Second Presbyterian Church, as it took a year to restore it.
"I get to look at the thing as the same year that was made when it was first exhibited to the congregation that put it in."
This particular window is a unique, one-of-a-kind balcony window located at Second Presbyterian Church. It's the "Mount of the Holy Cross" window.
It stands 16 feet high and is made up of 18 panels and thousands of individual pieces of glass. The stained glass window depicts two angels at the bottom of a Colorado mountain, and it has been at the church since 1902.
"You're seeing exactly what they saw back then, which is kind of cool, and I love that," said stained glass conservator Tom Venturella.
Because it's been there since the turn of the century, Friends of Historic Second Church said it was dirty and needed to be restored.
"Tom Venturella, the conservator, said these are the dirtiest. He works on a lot of Tiffany windows, and these are the dirtiest Tiffany windows he's ever worked on. Which says, I'm afraid, something about Chicago's air," said Linda Miller, President of the Friends of Historic Second Church.
Last year, CBS Chicago showed you the process of being taken out piece by piece.
"The most and usually the most messy part is removing the windows because they've been in for so long," Venturella said.
The group, Friends of Historic Second Church, received a donation in honor of the late philanthropist Richard Driehaus.
They could return the stunning window to its original glory for $550,000.
"It has to have a new steel frame. Have a new frame on the exterior to hold the protective glazing. Put in new protective glazing," Miller said.
"It's going to take several days to restore all of the panels. The scaffolding will be up until the third week of August, but once it's done, they promise it will be a stunning revitalization. Reporting in the South Loop, Shardaa Gray, CBS News Chicago."