St. Luke’s, History Center look for a new home for church windows

St. Luke's is pleased to announce a partnership with The Carl & Mary Koehler History Center to preserve and identify appropriate recipients for the Louis Millet stained glass windows housed within First Christian Church.  Preservationists have confirmed Louis Millet was the art glass designer of the church windows and light fixtures, which maintain significant value apart from the original structure.

The Millet windows and light fixtures will be removed from the structure by a professional stained glass window preservationist who will crate and store them.  St. Luke's will keep several windows for its Chapel and for the Helen G. Nassif Community Cancer Center of Iowa. The History Center will add a few examples of the stained glass to its existing collection of First Christian Church materials. This collection currently consists of architectural drawings, a stained glass chandelier, souvenir programs, photographs, annual reports, church directories, and other documents.

St. Luke's will store the remaining pieces for a period of 12 months while The History Center seeks applications to repurpose the windows and light fixtures within public spaces in the Cedar Rapids Corridor.  The History Center will announce guidelines and the application process in June.  An independent review panel will be formed to evaluate applications.  Following the completion of application review process, any remaining windows and light fixtures may be repurposed outside of the local area.

Additionally St. Luke's worked closely with First Christian Church members to repurpose and salvage many other items from the church including lighting, windows, marble, altars, etc. The church congregation also found a new home for the organ at another church in the Midwest. The entrance columns will also be salvaged and stored.

St. Luke's Hospital purchased the First Christian Church property in December 2009 and on February 3, 2010 the City of Cedar Rapids approved the site plan for PCI's Medical Pavilion.  The site plan publicly announced the future of First Christian Church.  Only recently have activists expressed interest in raising awareness about the fate of the property.

St. Luke's has delayed demolition of the structure for five months to give interested and concerned individuals sufficient time to submit viable proposals for reuse of the property or long-term sustainability options.  As of May 11, 2012, no one has submitted any viable proposals.

St. Luke's feels the highest use for the property today is to help move forward the development of expanding businesses in the Medical District. The Medical Pavilion and MedQuarter are important catalysts for economic growth and improvement for the City of Cedar Rapids. While preserving the history of our city is an important endeavor, it must be done in a balanced manner to not impede progress. Expanding and growing the City of Cedar Rapids, particularly after the flood of '08 is also of critical importance.

Organizations interested in applying for the windows or light fixtures and individuals interested in serving on the review committee should call The History Center at 319/362-1501.

Watch a video and hear from members of First Christian Church on why they made the decision to offer their building for sale in 2010.

http://youtu.be/FgXjI0AXMJM