Stained Glass Glimpse #19: Succession

As deplorable as they were, the family in Succession made one hell of a drama. I loved the ending, did you? 

Two churches for two funerals were featured throughout the 4 seasons. One, for the patriarch himself, Logan Roy, in Season 4, Episode 9. His extravagant send-off took place in St. Ignatius Loyola church in Manhattan, considered one of the most beautiful churches in New York. The church was completed in 1900 and boasts detailed marble, mosaic, and granite work, alongside the extensive stained glass windows.

The other service, for Uncle "Mo" Lester, was shown in Season 2, Episode 4 and set in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Larchmont, NY. Only Connor Roy and girlfriend attend the funeral of Lester, due to his rumored misconduct. The glass here is so colorful and just surrounds the attendees from all angles! However, even the saintly glow of these glass windows isn't enough to soften the familial Roy irreverence.

The New York Times wrote this blurb about three additions to the church windows, made by Charles M. Shean, in 1895.

#succession #successionhbo #royfamily #jeremystrong #kieranculkin #sarahsnook #jamescromwell #alanruck #mealfitforaking #shivroy #connorroy #kendallroy #romanroy #romulus #royco #stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #stainedglassinthemovies #setdesign #stainedglasswindows #churchwindows

Stained Glass Glimpse #18: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Forgetting Sarah Marshall came out 15 years ago, in 2008, and graced us with an iconic break-up scene, courtesy of Jason Segel.

The glass in their living room adds a nice aesthetic, as well as an essential privacy screen, considering Segel’s surprise!

#forgettingsarahmarshall #surprise #jasonsegel #kristenbell #milakunis #breakup #glasscameo #glassglimpse #glassglimpses #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglass #setdesign #setdecoration #artinmovies #stainedglassinthemovies

Stained Glass Glimpse #17: The Last of Us, Episode 1

Are you watching!? The hugely popular The Last of Us, adapted from a video game to an HBO show, is a new take on the zombie genre. Instead of viruses or bacteria, the living dead are brought back from a fungal infection.

One of the protagonists, Ellie, seems to hold the key for a cure, but only if Joel can get her to a safe zone across the country. When we first meet Ellie, she is framed within a stained glass window. It’s surprisingly intact, considering the rest of this building, and the entire world, is barely holding together.

While looking for screengrabs of the show, I stumbled across a scene from the video game. Bill made his safe house in an old church, which makes for a lovely sanctuary with those brilliant windows. Perhaps we’ll come across something similar later in the show! (By the way, wasn’t Episode 3 so beautiful?!)

#stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #stainedglass #stainedglasscameo #stainedglassinmovies #stainedglassingames #tvset #artintv #artinmovies #setdesign #glassglimpse #glasscameo #churchglass #thelastofus #lastofus #lastofushbotv #tlou #tlofhbo #thelastofus1 #ellieandjoel #ps4 #pedropascal

Stained Glass Glimpse #16: Martin's Big Words, book by Doreen Rappaport, illustrations by Brian Collier

“Hate cannot drive out Hate. Only love can do that.” ~MLK

Sharing the important biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. works well in the context of this richly illustrated children’s book. “Martin’s Big Words” was written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Brian Collier. As he was a minister and activist, the stained glass images create a true backdrop to his life, while also enveloping the story with their glowing reverence.

I have memories of being at my mom’s office on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No school on this National holiday, so a trip to her office’s supply room kept me busy. Using yellow legal pads, highlighters, and fresh Bic pens, I wrote what I felt was an honorable tribute to the day, complete with a portrait drawn of MLK. After delivering copies of it to all her co-workers, I felt like I’d contributed my part to spreading King’s message.

If only it were that easy. Spreading King’s message remains an essential part of being an American. Let’s keep at it.

#martinlutherkingjr #mlkday #mlk #drking #ihaveadream #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglass #stainedglasswindow #illustratedglass #stainedglassillustration #stainedglassillustrations #spreadlove #artnothate #nonviolence #stainedglassinbooks

Stained Glass Glimpse #14: A Christmas Story

Only true glimpsers will see this one! I caught the site of half dome glass windows during the opening panning shot of A Christmas Story. While the movie is set in Northern Indiana, the city scenes are actually downtown Cleveland, where this structure has been standing since 1894.

The building is a Civil War monument that honors the individuals who served during the war. From the Soldier and Sailors Art Catalog (found on their website), “The Tablet Room contains fourteen superbly crafted and brilliantly colored stained glass windows that flood the interior with a gloriously sublime light. They are composed of a wide variety of opalescent glasses and even semi-precious translucent stones. The windows have bronze frames and sashes that are hinged on the bottom and open from the top, with a chain and gearing. The windows are patterned to reflect the themes of the bronze battle groupings found on the exterior of their respective walls. The sashes are made double to hold a protective plate of Florentine glass on the outside.”

Levi Scofield, a veteran of the war, was the architect of the monument. He worked on the condition that he would not be paid, and worked during 12 years on its development and construction. He created an original style utilizing images of the tools and symbols of the military, which is seen in the detail of the stonework, brass work and stained glass windows.

The windows are high up the walls, topping the listed names of the county's servicemen. Relief sculptures depicting Civil War scenes make up the center of the room.


In the various windows, I see rondels used as cannonballs, some nice dimension to that wheel, and some flowing flags. I wish I could see them all up close!

A renovation of the monument took place in 2008, including releaded of the glass windows, as seen here. It’s a treat to see historic glass on the workbench! You can see how big the windows are from this perspective; all measure 66” wide at the base.

See below for pictures of more, and read more details in this document provided by the Monument’s website.

And for a more detailed look at the monument, check out this video.

Stained Glass Glimpse #13: Fortune Feimster Sweet and Salty

Fortune Feimster’s 2020 Netflix special, Sweet & Salty, is 100% worth watching for its hilarity, but why not also glimpse that stained glass peeping in the background?

Feimster filmed the show in the McGlohon Theater in Charlotte, NC, which was converted from a church in 1980 after some restoration.

As Feimster notes about how it came to be in an interview: “It really was just a coincidence. We had actually booked the show first before we had sold the special. Once I sold the special, I was like, "Hey, I'm doing a show in Charlotte in September, is there any way we can make that the special?" It took a lot of arranging, but they finally figured it out. And then I was researching the theater, I found out that it also serves as a church. And I thought, "This is hilarious. Of course it's a church!"

Once you watch the special, you’ll understand the irony, too!

If you like the show, lucky you! Her 2022 special, Good Fortune, is just as great.

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Stained Glass Glimpse #12: Young Sherlock

December 4th! On this day in 1985, Young Sherlock Holmes was released. Okay, so this is another example of glass-adjacent glimpsing, but it is so worth taking notice of! Thanks to @vincentzager for the clip!

This movie was a landmark in CGI effects, boasting the first fully computer-generated animated character. We get to see a stained glass knight coming to life, and scaring be bejesus out of a priest. This landmark in special effects led to the new classics, like Toy Story, and their life-like animation.

Also check out this explainer of how the engineers worked out the effect. Kudos to Dennis Muren’s wife, Zara Pinfold, who came up with the idea in the jacuzzi.

Stained Glass Glimpse #11: Making Fun

This show is The Best! My whole family laughs so hard at the wise-cracking humor of Jimmy Diresta and his crew in Making Fun, streaming on Netflix. The team gets an idea from kids about what creation they should make, like “a T-rex that vomits tacos…onto you, while you’re sitting on a toilet”, or a “Cat-a-poop vs. Tre-poo-chet” cat-poop-flinging competition.

The glimpse here was prominent but easily suspect. Is this bold and bright shop signage real stained glass? While watching the show, we see the male worker in both the interior and exterior signs facing to the right. Clearly not the same sign, but two signs! A quick search shows how the signs were made by pouring epoxy into a plywood frame. Using CNC machines and colorful pigment, the stained glass effect is constructed intentionally and unmistakably.

Now, when you see evidence that someone avoided making real stained glass by using epoxy, it seems the trail of bread crumbs ends. But not for Jimmy Diresta! He makes everything, and he did in fact use real glass to make a smaller version of the design.

Rather than rely on the customary, handcrafting tools for stained glass, Jimmy used a waterjet cutting machine to cut the plexi frame and glass shapes, He then attached the glass into the open spaces using silicone.

Not exactly the methods of the masters, but close enough to say the rabbit hole led me to a true glimpse of glass!

Watch his method in the video below!

#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #stainedglassontv #artinmovies #setdesign #makingfunnetflix #makingfun #makingfunshow #diresta #makersgonnamake #workshop #dreamworkshop #woodshop

Stained Glass Glimpse # 10: Halloween Ends

Ok, but does it ever really end? The newest Halloween franchise iteration boasts some stylish glass in our main set’s front doors.

The trailer popped up a few weeks ago and the glass was ever-present. Had to watch it! Didn’t love it!

The door stained glass is real, shiny and shimmery throughout the ongoing struggle between Michael Meyers and our heroine Laurie Strode. Nice to see such prominent placement of real glass!

This image is from a “making-of'“ short, as the signs on the right indicate.

#halloween #halloweenends #jaimeleecurtis #screamqueen #finalgirl #lauriestrode #halloweenmovie #michaelmeyers #stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #setdesign

Stained Glass Glimpse #9: Better Call Saul

A break from our seasonal spooky selection to say:

Happy 60th Birthday @therealBobOdenkirk !

There were a few glimpses of glass in the masterful Better Call Saul, but none that struck me as the one in Season 5 Episode 1 Wine and Roses. We sneak a peak Saul’s home, filled with gold toilets and over-the-top embellishments. It’s hard to miss the rounded stairwell with tall stained glass windows as we see agents boxing up Saul’s home decor, er…evidence. Even McSweeney’s got in on mocking incredulous furnishing of our favorite meth-maker lawyer’s home.

The glass is real, and can be seen from an exterior view of the actual home used for this set in Albuquerque, NM.

Another striking glass glimpse takes place in Season 4, Episode 1: Smoke. Chuck’s funeral takes place in The Cathedral of St. John (also in Albuquerque NM), which has some elegant, detailed glass windows all around the abbey.

#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #setdesign #bettercallsaul #bobodenkirk #breakingbad #saulgoodman #cathedralofstjohn #jimmymcgill #chuckmcgill #albuquerque #slippinjimmy #bettercallsaulamc

Stained Glass Glimpse #8: God Bless the Gargoyles

Let’s get a little lighter, shall we?!

And let’s check out a children’s book!

Dav Pilkey’s God Bless the Gargoyles uses the bright, bold colors of stained glass in his illustrations to emphasize the home of the titular stone statues.

The book is in rhyme, and I love that the story gives due to the artisans who created the churches. It’s a great read this time of year, and reminds us of the true duty of gargoyles.

Stained Glass Glimpse #7: Suspiria (1977)

CW: blood and gore

I love a good horror movie, and there was a lot of impressive artistry in the original Suspiria. But this flick was horrific and I can’t recommend it without major gore warnings to you!

The stained glass ceiling in the main lobby of the dance academy, surrounded by red velvet, is just one of the fantastical set pieces that give this movie a strong sense of surreality. In part of the movie, it crashes down after a woman is murdered atop it in a most gruesome fashion and is then hanged from above. A second victim gets impaled by the glass.

The murdering happening on top of the glass.

Ack, this is just horrifying, but you can see the cracked glass as her head breaks through.

Her body begins to break through.

A second victim getting impaled by the broken glass.

Dear lord this movie is morbid.

The ceiling is so iconic that it was featured in the 2018 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina TV series.

Not Suspiria, but Sabrina

Another glass window adorns the hallway to the dormitories. When the movie shifts from surreal to straight up horror, the lighting changes, including from beyond the glass.

All nice and normal.

Run Run Run!

Here are some more stills from the movie to show the overall set design, full of wild, primary color choices and almost nightmarish surroundings.

No copyright infringement intended.

#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #setdesign #horrormovie #spookyseason #suspiria #suspiriamovie #happyhalloween #halloween

Stained Glass Glimpse #6: Hereditary

More for our scary season! Next up is Hereditary.

Some interesting stained glass fills the home in this 2018 psychological horror movie. Many of the windows are interior art pieces. See the first picture with two large vertical Prairie style windows, and also the transoms over the entryways on either side. There are some nice images from the movie with good lighting, but much of the film was dimly lit or intentionally dark, including most of these interior scenes.

The iconic scene. But don’t get too distracted and miss the stained glass!

Note the transom above the door.

One fantastic shot is from the grieving Peter’s point of view through the stained glass, watching a funeral gathering in his home. We first see this blurry, surreal image of the home (you can even see other stained glass in the transom), then a shot of him hiding behind the glass.

While most of the stained glass in the movie are classic designs, there are some unique panels in the hallway with orbs floating within triangular shapes. These panels aren’t made using typical methods of stained glass, and may not even be glass. Their design may have been customized to follow the symbology of the cult at the center of the plot. (Note the circular windows throughout the house.)

Those blue orbs cut right into the clear piece. In a real glass piece, over time there’d be some cracking here, for sure!

Some orbs here, too.

Time to exorcise those demons!

More interior shots.

No copyright infringement intended.

#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #setdesign #horrormovie #spookyseason #alexwolf #tonicollette #horrormovielocations

Stained Glass Glimpse #5: Hellraiser

CW: gore, blood, suicide

It’s my favorite time of year! Fall is the best…cozy clothes, crackling wood fires, warm tea, and it’s also the time when I force my husband to watch horror movies with me. Over the last few years we’ve enjoyed the early classics of the genre (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), the horror cinema of the 1960s and 70s (The Wicker Man, Dawn of the Dead, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), and current day remixes of the genre (The Cabin in the Woods, Get Out, Us).

Not only are stained glass windows present in many films of this category, but sometimes they are prominent—almost integral—to the plot, visual effects, or atmosphere in which our protagonists flee the big bad. I’ll have more to share this month than others; there are just so many options to choose from!

First up is Hellraiser. The original. I was inspired to watch after listening to an episode of Unspooled, a podcast dedicated to discussing some of the greatest movies of all time. At the end of the Midsommar episode, Amy Nicholson teased the next episode as one she thought would be the ultimate scarepiece: Hellraiser. The other host, Paul Scheer, hadn’t seen it. The date was set.

Ok, so Paul and I agreed that Hellraiser isn’t as glorious as Amy thinks, but rather a pretty bananas, schlocky movie with a few fun themes and interesting horror touchstones. But! The stained glass of the main house (where over 70% of the movie is set) was so noteworthy!

I learned that, in order to save money, the scenes depicting the Cotton family house were filmed in a real house in London. It was appropriately disheveled at the time of production, so little needed to be done to make it fit the rundown look from the plot. According to Amy Nicholson on Unspooled, the reason the house was up for sale for cheap was because someone had committed suicide in the garage by carbon dioxide poisoning.

The stained glass manifests throughout the entire movie, with most panels visible in just the first few scenes set here. The front door, hall windows, and even upper sections of bay windows, are filled with simple lead came panels with singular floral designs centered among square panes of textured clear glass. At times, the red and green bursts of color twinkle behind the characters during scenes of suspense and tension.

Throughout the movie, the windows themselves seem to become background characters, welcoming guests into the home and surrounding our protagonists. Even the upstairs attic window, covered hastily with paper for privacy, mimic the stained glass look.

Enjoy this collection of the best screen grabs from Hellraiser, and don’t get too frightened!

No copyright infringement intended.


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One of the first scenes of the Cotton House.

Glass on both levels of the stairwell.

Always in the background.

From the exterior, lit from inside.

Oh, this guy.

The house exterior. Look close and you can see the glass windows all around!

The paper “stained glass” in the attic, showing off our gooey friend Frank.

Stained Glass Glimpse #4: The Sandman, Episode 1: Sleep of the Just

I’ve plunged into The Sandman, and it is as gorgeous and engaging as the original comic. The stained glass I’ve seen so far hasn’t disappointed! The glass won my heart within two minutes!

The epic starts with a raven’s soaring perspective, entering Sandman’s castle, zooming past Lucien’s exquisite library, and then into the throne room. The flight swiftly traverses several monumental stained glass windows before resting in the throne room, which was filmed in a real church in England. Visual FXs create the ambience; a team of 400 artists worked on this for 2 months, with the stained glass taking a full week to perfect.

As much as the use of digital effects steals some glory from handcrafted stained glass windows, the beauty of stained glass is only further established when stories as fantastical as The Sandman use this medium to enhance their set design. When one sees stained glass, real or computer-generated, we feel a sense of reverence.

The actual church, Guildford Cathedral, does have real stained glass in the larger upper windows, but those were considered too dull for The Sandman. And I imagine those windows don’t have shifting pieces that display The Corinthian.

The Corinthian

A second short glimpse happens around 15 minutes in, at the Burgess’ manor, as Alex is eavesdropping on his father and The Corinthian. We see another glass window peeking through behind Alex, and this one looks real, with saintly figures depicted.

No copyright infringement intended.









#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #thesandman #sandman #thecorinthian #setdesign #visualfx

Stained Glass Glimpse #3: The Post

How ironic that a movie centering on The Washington Post gives all the glass glory to The New York Times! The Post is a historical political thrilled about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers set in the early 1970s.

This glass glimpse was a sight to behold, nestled among top notch performances by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Spotting authentic, historic, meaningful stained glass is the most joyous part of this pet project. And the deep dive I took to uncover the history of this window was highly rewarding...a real treasure hunt for a glass nerd like me.

The movie scene set the scene with a building's façade, ostensibly the New York Times office in New York City. Easy enough to find, I thought. However, I learned the Times' headquarters has moved several times through its 171 year history of production. And during the time of the movie's context, 1971, it was housed 229 West 43rd Street.

Using Google Maps Street View, I scouted the location of that building, but current day scaffolding covered the transom area above the door. Other clues indicated this was not the right building.

Not the building in The Post.

The next best way to scout it out was to look up the movie's filming locations. I should have done this in the first place. Thanks to IMDB, I saw that the setting for the building entrance was filmed at 20 West 44th Street in Manhattan. And wow, what a discovery!

This is it!

The building hosting the stained glass is actually The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, a still functioning organization founded in 1785, that “continues to serve and improve the quality of life of the people of the City of New York through its educational, philanthropic and cultural programs including its tuition-free Mechanics Institute, The General Society Library, and its century-old Lecture Series.”

From their website.

Mystery solved, and history learned! I really enjoyed reading more about this organization and their mission. I found an interior photo of the stained glass taken in 2017 from Google Maps and others on the group's website.

photo by Rouslan Valonen

No copyright infringement intended.

#stainedglass #stainedglassglimpse #stainedglassglimpses #glassglimpse #glasscameo #stainedglassinthemovies #stainedglassintv #artinmovies #thepost #tomhanks #merylstreep #thepentagonpapers #thewashingtonpost #thepostmovie #mydecisionstands