Restoring Stories: Stained Glass

Recorded: October 20, 2022 6:00pm
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By the 1980s, Eldridge Street Synagogue, the first grand house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, had fallen far from its glory days. The stained glass windows had warped and cracked, dust and pigeon waste covered the carved oak benches and sills, and paint and plaster peeled from the high walls and repeating domed ceiling. Despite the sad state of disrepair, a deep sense of community and collective memory remained.
How does one approach such a massive restoration project on a sacred space while retaining reverence for its history? What can the choices made when it comes to decorative arts, like stained glass windows, tell us about a community’s values? How do the stained glass restoration projects at the Museum at Eldridge Street compare to other spaces?
In this program we hear from Zachary Green, president of The Gil Studio, Inc., and architect and engineer Patrick Baldoni about how the studio restored the stained glass remaining in the Main Sanctuary, replicated panes that were lost or destroyed, and fabricated and installed artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans’s beautiful window that is now such an ingrained and beloved feature of our landmark building.
About The Gil Studio
The Gil Studio uses a number of ancient and modern techniques in the fabrication of windows or other glass objects. These range from the traditional lead came assembly through the more recent copper foil technique. They have also completed a number of projects utilizing addition curing silicone lamination, a process developed in Germany which allows the creation of massive windows without the use of lead cames. This is the process used to fabricate the beautiful Kiki Smith and Deborah Gans window at the east end of the Sanctuary!
thegilstudio.com