Talk about Stanton Street Shul in Lisbon, Portugal

We are thrilled to be able to share news about this project with our colleagues in the field of conservation at the 16 Triennial conference of the ICOM (International Council of Museums, Committee for Conservation), which will be held in Lisbon, Portual, the week of September 19th. Here is a link for more information about the conference: http://www.icom-cc2011.org/.

We will be sure to share any information we may glean from colleagues there.

Rear facade stained glass window discovered!

Work has been progressing bit by bit with the stained glass windows this winter, and we had a pleasant surprise when we removed the rusted steel plate covering the window on the rear (north) facade, above the ark. Ken and David Follett of Quality Restoration Works carefully removed the plate and revealed that most if not all of the window glass and leading is still there. We had assumed that we'd find only bits and pieces, but it looks like the window could very well be completely reconstructed from what is there.

The design of the window appears to be faithfully replicated on the roundel painting on the interior of the sanctuary, consisting of Hebrew text on a background of variously colored abstract shapes. The text reads "In memory of the soul of Rov Yichiel Michel son of Pinchas Roth, of blessed memory." If anyone has any memories or photos of this window or the family it commemorates, please let us know!!

Of course, this leaves us with another fundraising goal! But we have also found excellent contractors to work on these projects, which is sometimes half the battle. Many thanks to Ken and David Follett of Quality Restoration Works, Larry Gordon of Gordon Stained Glass Studios, and Reuben Bechtold of Artistic Renovation LLC for all your work so far!!