Tree of Life Chapel - Kirkwood, MO - Stained Glass Windows on Waymarking.com

Kirkwood-based Emil Freil, Inc., America's oldest stained glass window firm, fabricated the four 17-foot tall multi-colored panels that stretch 48 feet across. Brother Martin Erspamer, a Benedictine monk at St. Meinrod's Monastery, St. Ferdinand, Indiana, designed the window panels that depict an artistically abstract tree, touched by a gentle wind, as it undergoes a natural transformation from spring to winter, or, metaphorically, from birth through death.

When the north light bends through the windows the chapel is flooded with light and the windows take on an iridescent glow. When one looks outside the window, everything is seen in a shimmering, wavy dimension. At night, automatic timers illuminate the windows so passersby can fully appreciate their beauty and craftmanship. Since the Frei firm started business in 1898 it says it has not fabricated a window as large as ours. An exterior double pane of insulated clear safety glass protects the leaded stained glass panels. Concrete piers, sunk nearly 30 feet below the foundation, prevent the chapel from shifting and possibly damaging the unique windows that were made from glass hand-blown in Germany.

The four-foot diameter rose window high above the chancel represents Brother Martin's version of the symbolic tree of life with branches reaching skwyward and a sprightly array of wildflowers at its roots. "You'll feel like you're looking into the sky from this (translucent) window," said Stephen Frei, the builder, who explains that the round window he fabricated for the Washington, D.C. National Cathedral is similar in color and size to that of our chapel.

Two longstanding members of the church, Peg and Blanton Whitmire, generously funded the chapel's construction.
~ from informational brochure about the Tree of Life Chapel by the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood.

Also mentioned in the August 2007 edition of the Kirkwood Pres (visit link)

Type of building where window is located: Church Address: 100 E. Adams Ave. Kirkwood, MO USA 63122 Admission Charge: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Days of Operation: normal Worship Times, or by special appointment Hours of Operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

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