Inverted Dome
Resurrection Church,
1701 Franklin Street, Oakland, California
Start Date: August 19, 2019
End Date: February 13, 2020
Historical Background
The First Church of Christ, Scientist was originally formed on October 16th, 1895 as a branch of their mother church in Boston, Massachusetts. The building’s cornerstone was laid on May 1st, 1900; two years later, on January 5th, 1902, it was formally dedicated. The church, constructed in the Romanesque Revival style with large, rough stone blocks with sunk joints, was designed by architect and church member Henry A. Schulze. Mr. Schulze was a one-time partner of the noted Bay Area architect Arthur Page Brown, who designed the historic San Francisco Ferry Building.
The stained glass dome was designed by Charles Grolle in 1902 and was constructed by the firm of Flannigan and Biedeveg of Chicago, Illinois. Installed below the skylight of the church, the curved, 12-panel, multicolored dome underwent at least one partial repair since construction, but had not been completely conserved to its original state until Nzilani’s treatment in 2019.
Keen-eyed stained glass enthusiasts will note a subtle color gradation from light rose glass at the border to gold pink in the center, similar to that found at Stanford Memorial Church. Also unique are the stained, three-dimensional beveled glass pieces rarely seen by Nzilani’s conservators, whose expertise spans back to pieces from the 12th century.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist held services at the Franklin Street location for 114 years, until selling the property in 2016 to Jeremy Kidson, of Jeremy’s Department store, an upscale women’s clothing retailer based in San Francisco. An attempt to open a store in the church building was met with nearly a year of permitting issues which resulted in the building’s sale to Resurrection Church of Oakland “ResOak” in 2018, where they have held services since 2019.
Condition Assessment
The inverted dome consists of 12 separate stained glass panels mounted in a steel frame in the center of the Church’s vaulted ceiling, with a large attic above. The overall diameter of the dome is 10’ 4”, with a maximum (downward) rise of 13”. The design is an abstract, mandala-like pattern with a star-like radiance in the center and floral motifs around the periphery. The field lead is 1/4” semi-round came encasing a variety of textured and non-textured glass, as well as many beveled pieces of glass, some of which also have silver stain. There is no apparent glass paint. The border lead is flat of varying sizes, and very often missing entirely.
The “free floating” steel frame was attached to the building with steel cabling and wire, seemingly with multiple additions of different types of mounting over time. Because of the haphazard and inconsistent way the frame was mounted and hung, it was decided to redesign and replace the hardware holding the frame. The inverted orientation of the dome is unusual as it works against gravity. The likely logic of this design is that the prismatic beveled glass would spread light throughout the church more effectively than if the dome arched upwards, a more common design for stained glass domes.
Glass Dome Removal
All panels were removed from the frame to be treated at Nzilani’s studio. Scaffolding was erected on the underside to access the dome, with an approximate 16’ x 16’ footprint. The scaffold was fully shrink-wrapped with plastic and sealed at the ceiling to contain all dust and debris, particularly lead contamination. The topside of the dome was accessed from the attic, using a 2’x12’ plank (about 12’ long) across the opening in order to reach the center of the dome from above. Much of the area was accessible in the attic from a small platform which encircled the dome. The existing protective glazing system was removed first. This consisted of a wood frame, aluminum T-bars, and clear acrylic in eight “pie” pieces and sealed to the aluminum with black sealant.
Prior to removing the stained glass, documentation such as photography, extensive written note taking, and labeling was performed. The panels were also vacuumed from above as there was a heavy layer of dust on the entirety of the dome.
Removal commenced on August 19th, 2019. In order to remove each stained glass panel, the team had to work in tandem from above and below - utilizing radios until the first panel was removed. In order for the center sections to be removed, a plank was suspended over the dome and a team member was harnessed safely to an anchor in the attic. Because the removal actively created ambient lead dust, the team took proper CalOSHA precautions by wearing the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) for the job.