WATCH: Crew cleans skylight at Bonneville County Courthouse for first time in decades
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IDAHO FALLS – The stained glass window in the rotunda of the Bonneville County Courthouse is clean for the first time in decades.
The county hired Willet Hauser Architectural Glass Studio in Winona, Minnesota for the two-day task. Project Manager Jonathan Cope and his team were there Wednesday and Thursday cleaning the largest stained glass window for a courthouse in the state of Idaho.
In an interview with EastIdahoNews.com, Cope explained what it takes to clean the 24-foot by 24-foot enclosed skylight.
“With this particular window, we weren’t sure what it was going to take to get it clean because there was a lot of debris and gunk from the decades that it’s been here. We started getting all the dirt off by vacuuming,” Cope says. “We vacuum in a swirling motion to make sure we get as much dirt and debris off as possible before we start our cleaning process.”
Using chemical cleaners wasn’t an option because it would’ve had a damaging effect on the lead paint. Instead, they used a spray bottle with water and Dawn dish soap. Cope sprayed each individual tile, scrubbed the corners and crevices with a brush and then washed it with a micro-fiber towel.
County commissioners invited EastIdahoNews.com up on the roof to see the crew in action. Watch it in the video above.
The window with an image of the county seal was installed in 1921 when courthouse construction was completed. County officials aren’t sure who made the window, but the building’s neo-classical architecture was designed by Fisher & Aitkins.
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At the time, the skylight was fully exposed to the elements. Sometime in the 1970s, an enclosure was built around it to keep it safe and prevent it from breaking.
As a result, there was a lot of dirt on the outer side of the window and the cleaning crew had their work cut out for them.
“Years ago when it was cleaner, you’d see the sun come through this gold and yellow (window) and there was a wistful, beautiful effect it created. One wouldn’t expect to see that in such a plain county building. When you get inside and see that skylight and all the beautiful tile, it’s really remarkable,” former state legislator and charter member of the Bonneville County Historical Society Linden Bateman told us in May.
Bateman was the keynote speaker for the courthouse centennial celebration several months ago.
Commissioner Bryon Reed told us they’d initially planned to have it cleaned in time for that occasion, but it didn’t happen until this week.
Willet Hauser was formed in 1898 by William Willet and his wife, Anna Lee. Today, it’s recognized as one of the most prestigious glass companies in the world. It made its initial mark in 1919 when it created the Great Sanctuary window in the Cadet Chapel at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
Cope says his most unusual project through the years was cleaning a Tiffany window (lead glass window known for its color and design) inside St. James Episcopal Church in Gross Ile, Michigan.
The Bonneville County project is the first time he’s ever cleaned a window from above.
Lights were installed above the window last year to give it a natural lighting effect like it had originally.
The lettering on the county seal was much more visible from the inside by the time the cleaning crew were finished. Reed and the other county commissioners are pleased with how it turned out.
“Hopefully, there’s not too much dust here in the future,” Cope says. “When someone comes to clean it in the future, they should be able to vacuum it or blow the dirt off with a leaf blower.”
Cope’s next project is installing a window at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in Burley.