AT FHS WILL BE SAVED!! Update on 8/28/10. The Fairview Windows Preservation Committee Inc. is announcing that the official decision by the DPS is to place the stained glass windows in the new Fairview Commons PK-8 grade school at the corner of Hillcrest and Elsmere. It is very satisfying to know the windows will be restored and saved. Due to the committee’s diligence, the DPS is now aware of the great significance and value of the windows and the Metcalfs prominent place in history. The encouragement of many alumni and their generous donations helped make this possible. After reviewing the committee's concerns and the window’s historical information we presented to them, the DPS had the windows appraised. The preliminary appraisal value is two hundred thousand or more. They admittedly were shocked. We had encouraged the DPS to see the importance of allowing the Dayton Art Institute or the Carillon to be the future stewards of this great historic art. As many know, the financial situation of the DPS is rather bleak. We will remain monitoring the progress of the removal, restoration and display of the windows. There is a good deal more we will learn in the weeks ahead. There are numerous issues that still need to be discussed with the DPS. This is all we currently know. An article about FHS and the stained glass windows will run in the Dayton Daily News on Saturday August 28th, written by Meredith Moss, a former FHS grad. Please leave comments online or write the Dayton Daily News to express if you believe the DPS has made the best decision for the future location of this world-class art, created by internationally known artists. Are they using great foresight? This is a great part of Dayton's heritage. Has the DPS considered the magnitude of this art for future generations fifty to one hundred years from now? It is unlikely the new Fairview Commons will still be standing at that time. The average life of a Dayton Public School is approximately 65 years using old building techniques. The DPS posted on their website as of 3/26/10, that the average life of an American elementary or secondary school is 40-60 years. Perhaps less, considering the quality of building today and 60 years ago are so vastly different. Who will revisit the preservation of the windows when Fairview Commons is demolished?
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REMEMBER THE FHS STAINED GLASS WINDOWS?
Preservation Efforts Are Underway! |
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A committee of Fairview alumni has formed Fairview Windows Preservation, Inc. We are dedicated to the preservation of the two large stained glass windows at Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio. These works of art have graced the two stairway landings leading to the second floor facing Hillcrest for seven decades. The effort is prompted due to the Dayton Public School’s uncertainty as to the fate of the windows. While the architects’ initial plans for the new Fairview PK-8 School provided for the windows to be re-installed there in a back-lit display, the DPS has severe budgetary problems, so they may be unable to carry out that plan, leaving the fate of the windows to be in doubt. Fairview is scheduled to be demolished by the end of 2010; however, currently there is a possibility of FHS being sold and the land being used for neighborhood housing. If no steps are taken, there is a very significant risk that the windows will be damaged in a last minute effort (by non-professionals) to remove them and send them to storage at an ill-equipped DPS depot. The windows have a rich Dayton history both within Fairview and with the local stained glass artists who created them. Our intention is to ensure the two glorious Fairview windows are properly handled, restored, preserved and displayed in a secure permanent location for the enrichment of future generations and done so by art professionals. We intend to ensure they are maintained and the history of the windows accompanies them in the years to come. They are a Dayton treasure. |
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The windows were originally financed by FHS students from two separate classes. The students desire was for the windows to be forever appreciated and enjoyed by all future generations! The Art Deco style window, created in 1938, includes a portion of our school motto, “Healthful, Broadminded, Service-Seeking”, and shows the school’s major educational disciplines. The World War II window was created in 1945. It depicts four military branches, the Air Corp, Marines, Army and Navy. It was dedicated in 1948 to the fifty-one Fairview High School alumni who died in WW II and others that served. Both windows are incredible works of art and executed using centuries old craftsmanship and embellished with 12th century stained glass painting techniques. They are extraordinary by yesterday's and today's standards. They have enduring value both historically and artistically. For a brief description of Art Deco please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco . |
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A Glimpse At The History of the Artists The artists’ names are Robert Marion Metcalf and Gertrude Metcalf, a husband and wife team. Mr. Metcalf was a native of Springfield, Ohio and attended Wittenberg College. As a couple, Robert and Gertrude lived and worked in Springfield, Ohio and for a number of years lived in Dayton View. During their years in Dayton, Mr. Metcalf worked at the Dayton Art Institute as a faculty member and as Director of Decorative Arts. They were both major art figures, not only in the creation of stained glass but also in its preservation. They are known internationally for their body of work. Their stained glass is seen throughout the United States in many churches and cathedrals, at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, at Fairview and other locations. Nearby, Metcalf windows adorn the Episcopal Church of the Ascension on McGee Avenue in Middletown, Ohio and Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio. Art historian Virginia Raguin, of the College of the Holy Cross, in Massachusetts, calls Robert Metcalf, “a major Arts and Crafts designer with important work in [in churches in] New York, Boston, [and] Newport, and in the Cathedral of St John the Divine [New York City],” and cites windows at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Fairview High School as other significant works. Your help is needed! There is one opportunity to preserve
the FHS Metcalf windows and the need to do so is immediate! The windows committee hopes you can support this important effort! Thank you. The founding Fairview Windows Preservation Committee includes committee chairman Columbus, OH artist Jeri Jones Bland ’66, NY-based videographer Jack Berkemeier ‘63, Centerville teacher Carole Egusa Garland ’66, PA community service provider Howard Gorrell ’64, DC-based playwright and broadcaster Murray Horwitz ‘66, South Carolina educator Sandie Sturdivant Merriam ‘66 and VA attorney Edward Stout ’65. They are joined by Dayton business operations manager Al Donaldson ’65, Dayton fund-raiser Susi Sower Hansen ’65, DC attorney Julie Kitzes Herr ’63, Paris France attorney Jim Swank ’65 and Assistant to Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Vangrov ’71. Acting as special counsel is Dayton attorney Jim Swaim ’64 of Flanagan, Lieberman, Hoffman and Swaim, and special assistance from Dayton attorney Mark Feuer '70. Thank you to the artists’ son Robert R. Metcalf who is a master stained glass artist in the Pacific Northwest. Our sincere appreciation to him for his generous insightful conversations and historical information. Please continue to read more about the windows and Fairview below. |
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A sincere thank you to Virginia Burroughs for her generous advice. Virginia crusaded to rescue and preserve the MacFarlane (Dunbar) Mural which now resides at the Dayton Art Institute. She kindly gave us this article from a 1948 edition of the Tower News. |
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WHERE WILL OTHER ARTIFACTS FROM FHS GO? The Dayton Public Schools plan to incorporate the 1955 sculpture of Bruiser the Bulldog (adopted in 1923 as school mascot) into the new Fairview Commons PK-8 grade school building at Hillcrest and Elsmere. We understand that some items from FHS and other schools are now being stored at Carlson Elementary School, which is currently only used as a repository. We asked John Carr, at the DPS, and he does not believe any of the items are inventoried. It is known that in the past, many items have been demolished with the old buildings, sold or trashed in dumpsters. Since the public has been made aware of this, the DPS has been trying to resolve the issue by using a repository for some items. Recently some items have been incorporated into other schools. They are considering saving the five Four Freedoms tablet reliefs above the library door and the six Robert Koepnick stone reliefs on the exterior wall of the auditorium. Koepnick was a prominent Dayton artist who lived from 1907-1995. These handsome stone carvings depict sports, science, theater, music, art, and reading. Also under consideration for removal are two of the Rookwood fountains. Rookwood Pottery Company, founded in 1880, is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. |
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Your help is needed! There is one opportunity to preserve
these windows and the need to do so is immediate! An estimate of $50,000 is needed toward securing a safe new future for the windows. This is to include expenses for removal, crating, restoration, proper moving and short term storage. Please see how to donate by going to the "Windows Donation" page or simply click here and make your donation today! Any unused funds would be placed into a student scholarship account. Feel free to contact committee chairman, Jeri Jones Bland, FHS class of '66, at wishingstar@columbus.rr.com if you have questions.
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