FloridaFuture
August 17th, 2007, 03:11 PM
Restoring glow to a guiding light
A $2.7-million plan includes repair of 52 stained-glass windows.
By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED, Times Staff Writer
Published August 17, 2007
Elijah captivates.
From 20 feet away, his colors glow like a radioactive Chagall painting in blues and purples and reds.
But at arm's length, decay appears.
Like the 51 other stained-glass windows at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Elijah is buckling. The weight of the thick glass fragments is overcoming the lead that joins them, and the windows bulge outward.
Their repairs are one facet of a planned $2.7-million restoration of the main church hall and two neighboring buildings.
"This is one of the few buildings left in Tampa that's more than 100 years old," said Al Lima, a member of the church's board of directors who heads the restoration.
The main building, at 505 N Marion St. in downtown Tampa, dates to 1907. The church also owns the adjacent six-story Western Union building, an art-deco-style structure built in 1929, and a two-story building used for church offices.
A cursory inspection reveals the impact of age on the mission-style church hall. Cracks mar exterior and interior walls, a result of settling of the foundation. Water damage has created rust-colored stains. During storms, rain cascades down the rear wall.
"They've tried to do it on a shoestring," Lima said of the minor and piecemeal renovations of the past few decades, including an inadequate roof repair about 15 years ago. "If we let the roof go any longer we're going to lose the building," Lima said.
Only luck has kept leaks from damaging the church's massive pipe organ, built in 1994 and worth at least $450,000, he said.
Plus, the decrepit electrical system and 8-year-old sound system both need overhauls.
Then there are the windows, which represent the history of 20th century stained glass art and memorialize many important Tampa residents.
Far from uniform, they come in a riot of styles and colors. With relatively muted tones and classical designs, some would fit in a European Renaissance cathedral. Others, like the Elijah window, evoke 20th century artists.
But the most valuable may be a trio at the front of the church, over the high altar. Several experts have identified the unsigned works as original Tiffany pieces, including local stained glass artisan Joe Cannata.
Cannata, owner of Hyde Park Art Glass, called them spectacular but dangerously deteriorated. He said restoration costs would skyrocket if the church waited any longer.
"When they get more dilapidated, they cost a whole lot more to fix," he said.
To restore the windows, they must be taken down, their yellowed protective coating removed. Bent, buckled glass must be straightened, broken pieces replaced, damaged lead joints repaired. And every piece must be cleaned with special detergents.
Cleaning the windows will intensify their color, Cannata said.
"It's almost like turning them up a notch," he said.
The plan also includes demolishing the two-story building to put up a circular children's chapel and moving the offices to two renovated floors of the mostly vacant Western Union building.
The 569-person congregation has already donated about $1.7-million, Lima said, about enough for the main building renovations.
A significant portion of that amount, collected during a capital campaign started in May, comes from large and anonymous contributions, Lima said.
The congregation has always included some of Tampa's wealthiest and most influential people. It was established in 1871 with help from Capt. James McKay, a cattle and shipping magnate who served as mayor. Former U.S. Rep. Sam Gibbons occasionally attends with his wife, Betty Culbreath, a longtime member. Members still include president of the Bank of Tampa Gerald Divers; Hillsborough Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank; LeRoy Collins Jr., son of Civil Rights era governor LeRoy Collins; and members of the Lykes family.
With help from Dennis Fernandez, the city's historic preservation manager, the church has applied for inclusion of the main hall in the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation could result in national grant money for restoration of the main building, Lima said, freeing the donations for overhauls of the other buildings.
At its peak in 1958, St. Andrew's boasted 1,508 members, said church administrator Colleen Murray, but it shrank to about a third of that size as families moved away from downtown.
Now, as condominium buildings go up all over, church leaders anticipate an influx of new people. Lima said he hopes the church's restored beauty will draw them.
"Our main intent is to be shiny and pretty when all those people start moving in," Lima said.
Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mmohammed@ sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.
[Last modified August 17, 2007, 07:53:24]
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/17/Citytimes/Restoring_glow_to_a_g.shtml
A $2.7-million plan includes repair of 52 stained-glass windows.
By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED, Times Staff Writer
Published August 17, 2007
Elijah captivates.
From 20 feet away, his colors glow like a radioactive Chagall painting in blues and purples and reds.
But at arm's length, decay appears.
Like the 51 other stained-glass windows at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Elijah is buckling. The weight of the thick glass fragments is overcoming the lead that joins them, and the windows bulge outward.
Their repairs are one facet of a planned $2.7-million restoration of the main church hall and two neighboring buildings.
"This is one of the few buildings left in Tampa that's more than 100 years old," said Al Lima, a member of the church's board of directors who heads the restoration.
The main building, at 505 N Marion St. in downtown Tampa, dates to 1907. The church also owns the adjacent six-story Western Union building, an art-deco-style structure built in 1929, and a two-story building used for church offices.
A cursory inspection reveals the impact of age on the mission-style church hall. Cracks mar exterior and interior walls, a result of settling of the foundation. Water damage has created rust-colored stains. During storms, rain cascades down the rear wall.
"They've tried to do it on a shoestring," Lima said of the minor and piecemeal renovations of the past few decades, including an inadequate roof repair about 15 years ago. "If we let the roof go any longer we're going to lose the building," Lima said.
Only luck has kept leaks from damaging the church's massive pipe organ, built in 1994 and worth at least $450,000, he said.
Plus, the decrepit electrical system and 8-year-old sound system both need overhauls.
Then there are the windows, which represent the history of 20th century stained glass art and memorialize many important Tampa residents.
Far from uniform, they come in a riot of styles and colors. With relatively muted tones and classical designs, some would fit in a European Renaissance cathedral. Others, like the Elijah window, evoke 20th century artists.
But the most valuable may be a trio at the front of the church, over the high altar. Several experts have identified the unsigned works as original Tiffany pieces, including local stained glass artisan Joe Cannata.
Cannata, owner of Hyde Park Art Glass, called them spectacular but dangerously deteriorated. He said restoration costs would skyrocket if the church waited any longer.
"When they get more dilapidated, they cost a whole lot more to fix," he said.
To restore the windows, they must be taken down, their yellowed protective coating removed. Bent, buckled glass must be straightened, broken pieces replaced, damaged lead joints repaired. And every piece must be cleaned with special detergents.
Cleaning the windows will intensify their color, Cannata said.
"It's almost like turning them up a notch," he said.
The plan also includes demolishing the two-story building to put up a circular children's chapel and moving the offices to two renovated floors of the mostly vacant Western Union building.
The 569-person congregation has already donated about $1.7-million, Lima said, about enough for the main building renovations.
A significant portion of that amount, collected during a capital campaign started in May, comes from large and anonymous contributions, Lima said.
The congregation has always included some of Tampa's wealthiest and most influential people. It was established in 1871 with help from Capt. James McKay, a cattle and shipping magnate who served as mayor. Former U.S. Rep. Sam Gibbons occasionally attends with his wife, Betty Culbreath, a longtime member. Members still include president of the Bank of Tampa Gerald Divers; Hillsborough Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank; LeRoy Collins Jr., son of Civil Rights era governor LeRoy Collins; and members of the Lykes family.
With help from Dennis Fernandez, the city's historic preservation manager, the church has applied for inclusion of the main hall in the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation could result in national grant money for restoration of the main building, Lima said, freeing the donations for overhauls of the other buildings.
At its peak in 1958, St. Andrew's boasted 1,508 members, said church administrator Colleen Murray, but it shrank to about a third of that size as families moved away from downtown.
Now, as condominium buildings go up all over, church leaders anticipate an influx of new people. Lima said he hopes the church's restored beauty will draw them.
"Our main intent is to be shiny and pretty when all those people start moving in," Lima said.
Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mmohammed@ sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.
[Last modified August 17, 2007, 07:53:24]
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/17/Citytimes/Restoring_glow_to_a_g.shtml