We have sometimes been asked why so much of our focus is on the Tiffany stained-glass windows of St. Peter’s Chapel, especially over the past 5 years. First off, “what’s not to love” about Tiffany art glass? What makes the collection in St. Peter’s so amazing? Here are a few reasons that come to mind:

1. •It’s not stuffy stained-glass in a museum with security guards and loud warning alarms if you step too close.
   

2. •It’s not far away, up high stained-glass ensconced hundreds of feet above you in a cathedral nave.
   

3. •It’s not a puny single art piece –  a lamp or vase from “Antiques Road Show”.
   

4. •There’s lots of it – 29 windows designed by the Tiffany Studios and 16 signed.
   

5. •There’s virtually nothing other than Tiffany designed art glass. We understand the collection was designed in a united theme by the Tiffany folks.
   

6. •It surrounds you in an intimate and simple wood-paneled single story chapel.
   

There’s one other thing that we think makes it especially endearing. The windows were created in the memory of men and women whose families cared enough to answer the call, or really the letters, of a Navy chaplain and his congregation way out here in the West, when nearly all of those honored are from our East Coast. Those family and friends must have experienced the Island we know and love, too. If they had not lived or visited here they were certainly moved to provide the funds for this special Navy memorial. So, we imagine these Tiffany windows as extraordinary gifts of love and respect linking the two coasts together as only the U.S. Navy has, since founding its first installation in the Pacific here at Mare Island in 1854.

While we have been gravely worried about the condition of the windows, especially for the past 5 years as we have more carefully observed the deterioration of the windows, we never cease to treasure the glorious beauty of these windows enveloping us in brilliant morning light or the hushed light of evening. We felt it was about time to share a little of what we have experienced with you by gathering our photos, paltry as they may be and giving you a glimpse of the glow we are so lucky to know.

We acknowledge that it will be fairly easy for you to see just how muddy and moldy they appear, so badly in need of cleaning and repair, resulting in loss of some of their vibrancy over the 100 years more or less, since being installed. With a good eye, you might even see the cracks and bulges that we all know are the inevitability of aging. Click here to take a tour through this little chapel beginning on the East, then walking along the pews on the South facing wall, to the altar facing West and finally walk along the pews on the North facing wall and back to the church foyer and it’s entrance.

If our story of the Tiffany collection of St. Peter’s Chapel has inspired and touched you, we are so very happy. If it makes you yearn to visit, we welcome you. If it worries you like it does us, here’s a link to the ways you can help ensure that this St. Peter’s Chapel Tiffany collection is made sound and beautiful for the next 100 years. Click here to learn more about the preservation and restoration needs and the signs of decline.