Summary status report on our facilities needs, 2026 (Speculation)

NEARING THE END of this fiscal year, with newly elected officers and directors, let me take stock of where we stand. From this vantage point, our recent accomplishments and imminent projects are taken as givens. What matters most are the challenges that we have yet to address.

The focus in this post is not on making improvements per se, but more simply on attending to what we currently have, beyond routine maintenance. I further restrict my focus here to items that are not obvious.

Below the jump, this post sums up the needs of our facilities’ major areas of concern. The list is not exhaustive. 

Wire mesh glass may not be worth retaining (Speculation)

THIS AFTERNOON, I was describing our windows to someone, which induced me to look up wire mesh glass, which I knew very little about. Mishkon now has such glass installed not only as an exterior layer for many of its stained-glass windows, but also as the glazing for windows on the west side of the school building. 

For various reasons, we plan to replace all of those panels within the next few years. The question is: should we replace them with the same type of glass—or something else?

Below the jump, I share the surprising answer that arose from my initial research.…

Grant applied for, to restore stained-glass windows and frames (Activity Report)

ON MARCH 3, Mishkon submitted a grant proposal to the National Fund for Sacred Places, which I helped to write. If awarded, the grant would provide a 1:1 match of funds, namely half of the estimated $186K needed to rebuild the glazing in the 12 exposed windows, and to overhaul their frames and hardware, in our historic sanctuary building. 

Below the jump, this post describes what we said that Mishkon would do with those funds, and why.

Summary status report on our facilities needs

STARTING A NEW fiscal year, with some new officers and directors, let us take stock of where we stand. From this vantage point, our recent accomplishments and imminent projects are taken as givens. What matters most are the challenges that we have yet to address.

The focus in this post is not on making improvements per se, but more simply on attending to what we currently have, beyond routine maintenance. I further restrict my focus here to items that are not obvious. (Which excludes repairing the flood damage in the basement.) This gives us our baseline for moving forward beyond this summer’s projects.

Below the jump, this post sums up the needs of our facilities major areas of concern. The list is not exhaustive. What is listed here alone will cost more than $180K. Most of the expenditures have been discussed by, and authorized by, the board of directors.

Are the outer panes right for our stained glass windows?

OF THE TWELVE OPENABLE PANELS in our south-facing stained-glass windows, 6 of them have protective glazing (an outer pane of clear or wired glass). Notably, the 6 that don’t are all bowed at the bottom. 

It may appear that the outside layer of glass is helping to preserve the stained-glass windows. More likely, the bowing on those panels occurred first, causing the outer glass to fall out. After all, our consultant 20 years ago warned us that the protective glazing was improperly installed—and was therefore shortening the life of our windows.

Below the jump, I excerpt (without comment) from a longer article on the topic, written by an expert.…

Summary: Pending Project: Stained-Glass Window Restoration

THE PLAN FOR OUR WINDOWS has been evolving in recent months. It is now more modest.… 

More about the Restoration of Stained-Glass Windows

RECENTLY, Michelle Geil and I have been corresponding with a restorer of stained-glass windows, to find out what a restoration project would involve.

Below the jump, I report on some of what we have learned.…

Board Approves Six Maintenance/Repair Projects

DURING THIS MONTH’S REGULAR MEETING, Mishkon’s board of directors passed three facilities-related resolutions. Taken together, the authorize expenditures — as funds are available — up to certain stated amounts for six projects. All of them are slated to be undertaken (at least begun) this summer. 

Below the jump, I list these projects, and I give hyperlinks to blog posts that have already discussed 3 of them.…

The Most Urgent Maintenance and Capital Improvement Expenditures

OUR LIST OF SPECIAL PROJECTS is growing: non-routine maintenance-related or restoration-related expenses that are warranted in the near term. This post is intended to inform the board, the membership, and prospective donors about those needs, so that we can now work together to raise the necessary funds. (These tasks are not among the restoration projects that the board has previously approved, conditional on the availability of funds.)

Stained Glass Windows: Restoration and Care

“THE WINDOWS at Temple Mishkon Tephilo are fine examples of mid-century American stained glass. Their simple repeating pattern with minimal paint allowed for all of the windows to be commissioned at one time at a reasonable cost. This also provided the proper visual element for the worship space while diffusing, but not obscuring, the strong Southern California sunlight.”

So wrote David Judson, the head of America’s oldest family-run stained glass studio: Judson Studios in Highland Park. He is a great-great-grandson of its founder. A little more than 19 years ago (2-13-03), Judson assessed the condition of our art glass windows—which are now 74 years old—and offered guidance for their restoration. 

 

This post restates that report, as re-edited with a focus on its action items. Although we don’t yet have cost estimates for the needed restoration work, at least we have reliable guidance as to what should be done. [I also add my own observations, in square brackets.]