Talk + Tour: Mid-Century Modern Stained Glass Windows in Sacred Places

✦ About the Talk + Tour ✦

has created many hundreds of Mid-Century stained glass

windows in Colorado churches and will be sharing selected works and sketches at this special Docomomo event. Significant Mid-Century churches will be highlighted, including a tour of Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, that is kindly hosting this event.

The Mid-Century modern movement was a time when families were leaving the cities and moving to the suburbs. The Post World War II era was a time of the Space Age, excitement and optimism. A new era of innovating architectural design was arising, influenced by such famous architects as Frank Lloyd Wright and I.M. Pei. The explosion of the suburbs and more worshippers meant church construction boomed. Mid-Century modern churches embody this shift away from the elaborate and ornate to simple yet dramatic architecture with sweeping rooflines, massive brick or stone walls and huge floor to ceiling windows with bold colorful stained glass windows filling the Sanctuary with the beautiful color of inspiring geometric shapes and abstract designs.

✦ About Our Speakers ✦

Stained glass has been a Watkins family tradition in England since 1761, nine

generations of Watkins have devoted their lives to stained glass for the past 260 years.

In Denver since 1868, the Watkins family is proud to be the state’s premier and oldest

stained glass studio, as well as the finest and most respected stained glass studio in the Rocky Mountain area. The studio is also one of the oldest and most internationally

recognized families in the world creating new leaded and stained glass windows, as well as, providing historical stained glass restoration and preservation. Watkins Stained

Glass specialized and created many hundreds of Mid-Century modern stained glass

windows in Colorado churches and throughout the country.

Kitt Watkins is a graduate of Denver University. She is attending the University of

Colorado – Denver’s School of Architecture and Planning. She has completed her

course work in the Master of Science in Historic Preservation in the Dana Crawford

Preservation Program and is currently working on her Capstone of archiving,

documenting and conserving a century of Watkins Stained Glass cartoon and work

drawings. She is working towards a UC-D Master of Urban Design and Regional Planning. Next year, she will be doing a Temple Buell Archives Fellowship with History

Colorado working on the Watkins cartoons. Kitt has completed her 5 year Apprenticeship in Stained Glass Restoration and is proud to be a 9th generation Watkins Stained Glass craftswoman. Kitt is a member of Docomomo US/Colorado, History Colorado, Historic Denver, Historic Berkeley, Historic Littleton, Colorado Preservation Inc., and the American Planning Association.

Jane Watkins has worked with Phil Watkins at Watkins Stained Glass Studio for the

past 55 years. She holds a BFA Art History - CU Boulder. She is on Colorado

Preservation Inc.’s Board of Directors, serving as Vice-President. She is a member of

Association for Preservation Technology, the Fairmount Heritage Foundation, the

Stained Glass Association of America, and previously served on Historic Denver’s

Sacred Landmarks Committee. Jane is a member of many local preservation groups

and is devoted to historic preservation.

✦ Meeting Location ✦

Meet us in the entry vestibule of the church. The feature presentation will start promptly at 12pm and will be followed by a tour of the church interior and exterior. Please dress for the weather. A Docomomo member will contact all attendees directly should a tour be canceled for any reason.

✦ Parking ✦

Free parking is available in the church parking lot and there is also on-street parking available in this area.

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