05-10-2023 03:37 PM - edited 05-10-2023 03:38 PM
A news story here in Pennsylvania:
"A church undergoing renovations sold two stained glass windows initially thought to be nothing special. Turns out they were Tiffany glass.
"... an historic church in Philadelphia originally built for St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in 1901 was sold last summer to the Emmanuel Christian Center at the price of $1.7 million.
"... William Brownlee, Sr. — now the new pastor — envisioned a church which had more of an updated vibe, and thus won a battle against preservationists to renovate the 122-year-old building... This involved gutting the church and removing items such as pews and the wood trim, as well as two stained glass rose windows.
"These furnishings were sold to an architectural salvager for $6,000 total, windows included. Thing is, the pair ended up being identified as rare Tiffany glass... created by Louis Comfort Tiffany... coveted works of 'rich colors' inspired by medieval Rome and Syria.
"Such glass is extremely valuable, such as the two stained glass windows from the church, which were estimated to be worth between $150,000 and $250,000 apiece...
https://www.pennlive.com/life/2023/05/dirty-pa-church-windows-end-up-being-rare-tiffany-glass.html
May 10, 2023
And here's the original Inquirer piece from which that was taken, a much longer and more detailed read for anyone interested:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/tiffany-rose-windows-church-west-philadelphia-20230509.html
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05-10-2023 05:01 PM
Like I always say... check in with the wizards on the ebay arts board before gutting your place of worship! Even without Argon we could have pulled that rabbit out of the hat!!! 🤔
05-10-2023 05:08 PM - edited 05-10-2023 05:10 PM
And now the church is broke, and he's doing a GoFundMe to try to get some cash, and he's in trouble because he had no building permits for the so-called "renovations" he did, and on and on. I guess he figured it wasn't his birthright, so why not sell it for a mess of pottage?
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05-10-2023 06:02 PM
Wow! Unbelievable, that pastor should be ran outta town!
It just saddens me that he had those windows removed, what did he put up instead Snoop dog posters?
Thanks Maxine for a good article.
05-10-2023 07:29 PM
Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old. Oh, you said pottage...
05-11-2023 07:24 AM - edited 05-11-2023 07:27 AM
Oddly enough, one of the things money raised in the GoFundMe campaign is to supposedly be spent on is stained glass windows. So maybe the plans are for more than mere posters of Snoop Dog...
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05-11-2023 08:50 AM
Unbelievable, I know that one could leave comments on those go fund me pages, just wondering if any of the parishioners that objected to this removal did?
What an absolute waste, Pennsylvania has such beautiful historic buildings and churches. One might wonder if this pastor was in cahoots with the salvage dude?
05-11-2023 09:20 AM
@silverstatetreasureboxes wrote:Unbelievable, I know that one could leave comments on those go fund me pages, just wondering if any of the parishioners that objected to this removal did?
What an absolute waste, Pennsylvania has such beautiful historic buildings and churches. One might wonder if this pastor was in cahoots with the salvage dude?
GoFundMe page seems to have disappeared. I doubt any collusion, since everything I know about the salvager says he is a totally stand-up guy.
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05-11-2023 10:27 AM
Thanks for posting - amazing
05-16-2023 10:33 PM
Unfortunately, the in depth article says they're currently covered in plywood. What an absolute shame!