Tiffany treasure
July 20, 2010 4:32 PM   Subscribe

The Willard Memorial Chapel is all that remains of the original Auburn Theological Seminary.

It is the only complete and unaltered Tiffany chapel known to exist. The Tiffany interior contains nine paneled rose windows depicting religious symbols and biblical figures, a three paneled stain glass window of "Christ Sustaining Peter on the Water", fourteen opalescent windows, and nine leaded glass chandeliers.
posted by Mblue (4 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is one of the best unknown things to see in Auburn! (The others include the Seward House and the Cayuga Museum and Case Research Lab, where sound photography was invented.) I say "unknown" because just a short drive away nobody seems to have heard of any of them.

The Willard Chapel is surprisingly low-key. What's notable is the integrity of the design throughout, the clear Tiffany touch in even the smallest details. Every time I've been there I've encountered no other visitors.

This is a sublime place and well worth visiting. Thanks for posting this.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:54 PM on July 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


Every time I've been there I've encountered no other visitors.

On vacation in the Finger Lakes, this was an off line stumble upon, the place is not situated for discovery. June was fascinating. Have you heard the "disco" tale?

Anyway, thought it was worth a post.
posted by Mblue at 6:15 PM on July 20, 2010


OK, uh, I guess someone is obligated to ask you, Mblue... what's the "disco" tale? You can't dangle that juicy tidbit and not deliver.

It makes sense, though: that place would look even more amazing with a massive mirror ball (mirror crucifix?) slowly revolving above the pews. Someone call the Haus of Gaga.
posted by Chichibio at 10:40 PM on July 20, 2010


The chapel was owned by a private individual prior to the preservation commitee purchasing the property. According to June, he told the preservation commitee that a purchaser made an offer, and was going to turn the chapel into a disco. He later admitted it was a fabrication, saying he was trying to get the commitee off their butts re the fund raising efforts.
posted by Mblue at 3:35 PM on July 21, 2010


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