In My Own Backyard

Recently we visited a jewel in our town that, although living here for most of my life, I had never visited. I had heard of the Lake View Cemetery and this stained glass window, but, as you will see, it is a huge understatement.

This 7' x 9' work of gorgeousness is The Flight of Souls, designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Before its installation in the Wade Chapel in 1901, Tiffany shipped it over to Paris for the 1900 World Exhibition, where it was prominently displayed at the entrance to the U.S. pavilion. It helped Tiffany to win his first gold medals from the L'Exposition Universelle. The window consists of several layers of a highly specialized glass known as "Favrile," which is known for its multicolored striations, opalescence and iridescence.* The understated colors are unusual in stained glass.

Lake View Cemetary has been described as an outdoor museum and arboretum. It was established in 1869 and is the final resting place for many famous (oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, Western Union Telegraph founder Jeptha Wade) and infamous people. Wade Chapel, named after Jeptha Wade, was opened in 1902. Besides the center stained glass window, Louis Comfort Tiffany also designed its art nouveau interior. The entrance doors are solid bronze, the floors are a Tiffany marble mosaic with a glass mosaic border and the wall murals are made of gold, glass and marble.

The wall mosaics depict "The Voyage of Life".

I found the colors of the glass exquisitely beautiful!

Do you have a favorite Tiffany piece?

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