The window and three others, along with several other projects at the church are part of a renovation project that started two years ago to refurbish the church that was built in 1854 and later enlarged in 1893.
The windows, according to Pucke, were crafted by F.X. Zettler — a German artist — and were installed at the Dayton Street church in 1912.
So far, the parish has raised $420,000 of $500,000 for the project’s first phase.
“We don’t know what kind of maintenance was done on the windows over the years,” Pucke said. “There was a huge fire here in 1990 that almost everything and the roof burnt down. Only the stained glass windows and side walls remained.”
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati ordered the church to be rebuilt around the walls and the windows because of its historic value and artistic merit.
For this project, the parish sought advice from a number of stained glass companies from around the nation. A parish committee, with the help of local architect Michael Dingeldein, determined which windows needed the most help. Dingeldein, of SHP Leading Design, did the design work for the project. SHP’s founder, Frederick Mueller, did the original architectural designs for the Fenmont Center when it was built in 1930 and the firm has handled all subsequent renovations.
The committee decided that two of the windows needed to be redone, cleaned, re-leaded and re-installed; the wood frames needed to be stripped down and painted; and new protective glass storm windows that were vented needed to be installed.
Radiant Arts Inc. of Beach City in northeast Ohio has been working on the complete restoration of the windows as well as the complete restoration of the wood exterior frames.
The windows, which are five feet wide and 20-feet tall, are removed from the frames for cleaning and re-leading, he said. The challenge is to be exact, as these windows were made in the early 1900s.
“It takes about a month for each window, from start to finish,” said Jim Foltz of Radiant Arts. “The storm glass was taken off of the windows to restore and paint the wood frames.”
In addition to the large stained glass windows, there are two smaller transom windows that are also being refurbished.
The church is grateful for the support from its parishioners as well as other residents throughout the city, Pucke said.
“It’s a heritage we’ve received and we want to preserve it,” he said.
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