By
Mary Beth Crocker
East
Row resident
First-ever
Stained Glass Walking Tour Scheduled for October 15
The
spectacular stained, beveled and leaded glass windows in the homes and churches
in East Row Historic District in Newport are pretty much ignored except, by
chance, if visitors catch a glimpse at night. However, those beautiful windows
will be illuminated for the first-ever East Row Stained Glass Walking Tour,
a fund-raiser for the public on Saturday, October 15. The East Row Historic
Foundation of Newport is sponsoring the event.
The
self-guided walking tour will feature at least 25 decorative glass windows and
doors in the neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. Windows range from dramatic stained glass styles in churches and
private homes to delicately beveled glass door panels, from small transoms
(above doors and windows) in stained or colorful leaded glass to windows with
unusual pressed glass tiles. The homes reflect a variety of exterior
architectural styles including Queen Anne, Italianate, Colonial Revival,
Romanesque Revival, and Greek Revival.
Several
tour homes were originally owned by notable historic figures: Gen. James
Taylor, the founder of Newport; George S. Wiedemann Jr., superintendent of the
infamous George Wiedemann Brewing Company launched by his father in 1870; and Barney Kroger, who founded Kroger Co. in 1883.
The
evening will begin at 7 p.m. at The Sanctuary, a former century-old church
at Sixth and Monroe streets, with a casual lecture/demonstration on the history,
design and artistry of decorative glass including a display showcasing glass
samples and original antique tools used to make it. The walking tour will
follow, and at ticket holders' leisure, will continue until 10 p.m. Visitors
will receive a ticket with a map and historic information along with a small
souvenir flashlight. Luminaries will light the front of each private residence
or church.
The tour will end back
at The Sanctuary with a reception from 8 to 11 p.m., with complimentary hors
d'oeuvres and wine reception. (Note: The tour is strictly an outdoor tour;
visitors will not be allowed to tour the interiors of the private homes or
churches with the exception of The Sanctuary.)
Tickets:
$12 per person. Available PURCHASE
TICKETS online beginning September 1, 2011. Any remaining tickets
not sold online will be available at the door of The Sanctuary between 7 pm
and 8:15 pm the evening of the tour. Children age 12 and under, if accompanied by an adult, will
be admitted free. Only cash and checks taken at the door. No credit cards
accepted. A limit of 200 tickets will be sold for the Tour and Wine Reception.
One hundred fifty additional tickets will be availabe for the Tour only at
$8 per person. (Sorry, but no rainchecks and no refunds in case of inclement weather.)
Need more information? Call (859) 261-1854
Among
the highlights:
¥
Although the window research continues, one or more of the dramatic windows,
which showcases a gypsy woman holding a tambourine, was created by the Cincinnati
firm of G.C. Riordan & Company, originally founded as Coulter and Finagin's
in 1838. (The firm is still in operation, now as BeauVerre Riordan Stained
Glass Studios in Middletown, and is the oldest documented continuously operating
stained glass studio in the United States.) The signed Riordan window was
installed above a stair landing in a 19th century home. Artist
Joseph Ashenbrenner created the window, using his wife as a model. Ashenbrenner,
who eventually operated his own company, also painted beer steins and shaving
mugs.
¥
The spectacular stained glass windows in the George Wiedemann Jr. Mansion, an
elegant Colonial Revival style built in 1900. The Plexiglas that covers the
windows will be removed so they may be cleaned before the tour; the Plexiglas
will be replaced following the event.
¥
The enormous memorial windows in The Sanctuary, now converted into an event
venue, will be illuminated from the outside to make them more visible during
the lecture and reception. One window, for example, is dedicated to Paris. C.
Brown, a former Newport mayor, upstanding citizen and a, Òwell-known river
man,Ó according to a story in the New York Times, who was eventually president
of his familyÕs Consolidated Boat Store Company in Cincinnati. He died in 1911
and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Ft. Thomas. In 1900, BrownÕs son, Frank,
who was an assistant cashier at a Newport bank, was investigated for allegedly
embezzling $200,000 from the bank, then fleeing the area, possibly to China,
according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
¥
The beautiful stained glass windows in the First Presbyterian Church, a high
Victorian Gothic structure built in 1893 and converted into two dramatic
condominiums in 1993-1994.
¥
The painted glass windows at the James Taylor Mansion, a Greek Revival style
that was originally built in 1815.
¥
Two intricately etched glass panels on the front door
of the Second Empire townhouse once owned by Barney Kroger, the Kroger Co.
founder who, with his wife, Mary Emily "Minnie" Jansen (originally of
Newport), raised seven children there during the 1890s. The home was built
around 1885.
Proceeds from the event will go to historic preservation efforts
in the City of Newport.
Additional information will be posted soon.
(Photos courtesy of Bruce Murray).
