National Cathedral's majestic stained glass windows are removed for a cleaning

(c) 2014, The Washington Post.

WASHINGTON Kenneth Lambides wears a green hard hat, safety goggles and a yellow hazard vest as he grasps the stained glass image of the early Christian martyr Saint Alban.

Perched on outdoor scaffolding high up the north side of the Washington National Cathedral, Lambides has crisscrossed the window with tape, so it won't come apart, and removed the hardened putty holding it in place.

When he gets the window free, it looks dingy with wear. But when he turns it toward the sun, light floods through the grime. The youthful saint, pictured before his beheading, has an orange halo. He holds a translucent green frond, and his robe is trimmed in purple and gold.

But the Saint Alban panel, and the other segments of the cathedral's two towering "Te Deum" windows, had been in place for 82 years. They leak. They're dirty with the smoke of decades of burning candles. And they are in need of repairs.

This month, the cathedral embarked on a delicate, nine-month project to remove and restore the famous windows, which installed when Herbert Hoover was president are among the oldest in the edifice.

Experts are taking advantage of the extensive scaffolding already in place for ongoing 2011 earthquake repairs to do the window work.

Lambides and a team from Femenella & Associates, of Branchburg, New Jersey, are removing the north set of windows at the Washington landmark. A team from Goldkuhle Studios, of Hanover, Virginia, removed the south set of windows Oct. 14 and 15.

The windows, which are 65 feet tall and were installed in 1932, depict kaleidoscopic scenes mostly from the Bible and Christian tradition Saint Alban is shown in another panel about to be beheaded by a swordsman.

There are apostles, prophets and more martyrs. Saint Stephen is shown being stoned to death, and Saint Polycarp is being burned at the stake. The Magna Carta is depicted. So are Christopher Columbus, a radio microphone and an airplane, among other historically important images, according to the cathedral.

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National Cathedral's majestic stained glass windows are removed for a cleaning