Windows

The Tiffany Stained Glass Windows of 

Second Presbyterian Church

Second Church is well known for its unique collection of stained glass windows. Thirteen of the windows are from the Tiffany Company,   and reflect the artistry of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The windows of Second Church show a number of features typical of the Tiffany style: 

• The inclusion of nature, especially plants and water
• The use of layers of glass to achieve dimensional effects
• The use of "drapery glass" to add texture to the robes in the scenes

Drapery glass is made in the glassmaster's studio by working molten glass with tongs to create a thick and thin texture, the resulting glass looking like natural folds of fabric.

Tiffany himself was not especially interested in religion, so he based the designs of these windows on images found in Sunday School books and other biblical illustrations, such as the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, the woman at the well, and the visitation to the empty tomb. There are also several windows constructed in the Tiffany style, by the Cincinnati Church Window Company, and by the St Louis artisan Emil Frei, of which the Emil Frei Associates, Inc. is still in existence in St Louis today. All of the windows that flank the walls of the sanctuary date from the early 1900s.

There are three large and dramatic windows in the front of the church that deserve      particular attention:

• The Ascension of Christ - to the right of the Chancel - directly above the triptych of the burial and ascension of Jesus. When the Ascension window was removed for cleaning during the 1987 renovations the congregation noticed for the first time the green fields of Jerusalem found at the bottom of the scene, which had previously been obscured by soot when St Louis had been a coal-burning city. At the end of each day, the halo surrounding Christ's head is the last feature to fade to darkness. 
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• Come Unto Me - in the Chancel, where worship is led on Sunday mornings - commissioned by Mrs. Clay Jordan in 1922.
  
  
  In front of this window and directly   above the Table for Communion hangs a Celtic Cross, a reminder of the Scottish roots of the denomination, that was commissioned by Mr. William Orthwein.

• The Soldier Window - (not picture) to the left of the Chancel - a memorial window dedicated to Jackson Johnson, a son of the Johnson Shoe Company, who died in World War I. The windows in this west transept are the only ones in the sanctuary that are back-lit, whereas the rest of the windows are lit only by outside sunlight.

• The MacIvor Window is in the center of the church in the back, above the organ, was designed in medieval style by Charles Connick of Boston, and is in memory of Rev. John W. MacIvor, pastor of this congregation from 1916 to 1944.  This window can be viewed in the music section of the website.

A selection of windows along the side aisle: