LWC Stained Glass window gets a facelift

[December 29, 2021]    On November 15th of this year, the Lincoln Woman’s Club saw the fruits of their labors come together when the Jacksonville Stained Glass company delivered and installed the club`s newly refurbished historic stained glass window.

The window, which was original to the 1910 build of the former Beth El Synagogue in Lincoln, was at risk of coming apart and for the last several years. The members of the club considered how to address the problem in the face of a huge restoration bill.

Fortunately, this year, the city of Lincoln aldermen approved funding for the restoration through two of its grant programs. Between the two grants, one from the city’s new Economic Development Grant program and the other from the Façade Grant program for historic preservation of the city’s downtown structures. Between the two, the club received $10,500, about two-thirds of the $15,000 that would be needed to restore the window.

The Lincoln Woman’s Club has owned the former Jewish Synagogue since 1927. The building was built on the east side of Latham Park in 1910.

According to Woman’s Club history, in 1909 the land the building is erected on was purchased from Margaret Maxwell by J. L. Deal. Deal then built the church for the congregation. It was the only Jewish synagogue in Lincoln.

The building served the Jewish community from 1910 to 1927 when the congregation disbanded. The Woman’s Club purchased the building for $5,000. To prepare the building for their use, they removed the pews, alter and chairs. The stained glass windows on the sides of the building were sold to Cornland Methodist Church. The club kept the large stained glass over the entry way.

At the time of purchasing the building, the glass said on it “Beth-El.” According to LWC member Terri McDowell, the words were removed from the glass many years ago, but the exact date is unknown.

This undated postcard published on Leigh Henson’s “Finding Lincoln Illinois” website vaguely shows that there is printing incorporated into the glass.

The building, in the care of the club has been carefully modified to suit the needs of the club while preserving the beauty of the interior and exterior of the building.

Approximately seven years ago, an inspection of the trio of stained glass windows yielded some alarming results. It was discovered that time and the elements were taking their toll on the window. The windows were bowed and structurally unsound.
 

The club reached out to Jacksonville Stained Glass to get an estimate for the restoration of the windows and were stymied by the cost. It was going to take $15,000 to restore the window. That was an unimaginable amount for the club members to comprehend and handle.

McDowell says it took a long time for the club to figure out how to proceed. But, when the city grants were made available, the group knew that there was hope. “LWC applied for and was awarded two grants from the City of Lincoln, totaling $10,750. That was the boost we needed to finally schedule the removal and repair. We are so grateful the city also wanted to see us preserve our historic and beautiful building close to downtown,” said McDowell.

The second blessing for the club came from Jacksonville Stained Glass who honored that original estimate even though it was several years old.

In July, Jacksonville Glass came to Lincoln and carefully removed the window from the building. It was taken back to their shop in Jacksonville and for the next few months the staff there worked on making the window sound once again.

In November, Jacksonville Stained Glass returned to Lincoln with the fully restored window. Framework was carefully rebuilt to put the windows back in their rightful place over the entrance of the building.

McDowell said there is one other small piece of stained glass that was removed from the bathroom in the building that will be restored as well. That window will not go back to the bathroom. It is going to be fitted to a frame for hanging and will be hung in the meeting hall for all to see.

The restored exterior windows will also have tempered glass installed on the outside to help preserve the stained glass for years to come.

While there is no longer a Jewish place of worship in Lincoln, thanks to the membership of the Lincoln Woman’s Club, this valuable part of Lincoln History is being preserved. Driving by the building on North McLean Street, one can see the Star of David that is still adorning the crest of the roof on the front. The beautiful stained glass window is once again in place, and inside the building looks a lot like it would have in 1910.

Thank you to the LWC, the city of Lincoln and others who played a role in preserving this important part of local history.

[Nila Smith with photos provided by Leigh Henson, Jan Youngquist and Angela Reiners]