PRESERVATION OF CHURCH WINDOWS UPDATE

                Back in July my column entitled An Army of Lifts announced the project for our Preservation Fund 2017 is the restoration and preservation of the Church windows. The project is now complete. The original quote for the project was $88,000. Once the work began that amount quickly grew. The final cost of the project was $137,430.

                This was due to extensive rehabilitation work that needed to be completed in order to preserve the integrity of the windows. The north side of the church facing St. Louis Place revealed no serious problems of deterioration. However, the Apse of the church with the windows that depict the life of St. Louis was another story. There was a lot of damage that needed to be repaired in addition to painting the wood frames. There was a great deal of rotted wood on the windows that needed to be replaced which was completely gone. The acrylic protecting the stained glass windows was cracked and needed to be replaced as well. The acrylic was replaced with glass on all seven windows so we will not have to deal with further deterioration in the near future. Also the stained glass windows are held in place by steel bars. On some of the windows the steel bars were completely rusted through. If these were not replaced, we faced the possibility that the windows would have fallen out or into the church. The south side of the church had very little damage that needed to be repaired. Much of this was done 10 years ago when the windows were last painted.

                All the work that had to be done was very necessary if we are to protect the integrity of the beautiful windows which are irreplaceable.

                The Preservation Fund Drive is now underway and is for the preservation of our beautiful stained glass windows. The Preservation Fund Drive has raised $20,655 so far. Your continued support for the preservation of our beautiful historic church is most gratefully appreciated.