Arts & Entertainment

Needham Business Honored for Restoring Covenant (Church's Window)

Needham-based Serptentino Stained Glass Studio to be honored for work repairing Boston church's damaged Tiffany window.


A Needham-based studio fixed a window. The window was stained glass, and the repair will earn them a reward.

The Boston Preservation Alliance announced its 2013 Preservation Achievement Awards, which will be held October 21 at the Paramount Theatre 

In November of 2011, thieves broke into Boston's Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street. In addition to stealing computers from the church offices, these perpetrators damaged the lower third of a Tiffany stained glass window depicting Dorcas, also known as Tabitha, a biblical figure healed by the apostles in the book of Acts. According to the church website, the damage was done with a fire extinguisher.

The repair job came to Needham-based Serpentino Stained Glass Studio, and artisan Robert Rosa who brought the window back to its former glory (see before and after pictures above). 

See more about the restoration on the Feb 2012 Boston Globe story posted to YouTube.

Because some of the Tiffany glass used in the original window is no longer available, Rosa collaborated with fellow experts to create comparable pieces of glass to use in the window. 

"The preservation of the window at the Church of the Covenant is a miraculous feat, demonstrating skill, creativity, and perseverance on a remarkable scale. Perhaps if Roberto Rosa was around they would have even been able to put Humpty Dumpty together again," said Greg Galer, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance in a press release.

Other preservation projects receiving awards include the Men's Comfort Station at Boston Common--once a bathroom; today, the location of the Earl of Sandwich sandwich shop--and Brighton's Mile Marker 6, a colonial-era landmark constructed in 1729.

Tickets to the awards are available through Eventbrite, and run $75 or $50 for young professionals.


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