ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There are many beautiful stained-glass windows in Colorado in churches, buildings and homes. Some are new, others are hundreds of years old.
Many of them have been built or restored by Watkins Stained Glass, a family owned business dating back to England in the 1760’s. This is an amazing story about art, passion and preservation that has touched all corners of the state.
Phil Watkins is an eighth-generation stained-glass artist. His great grandfather moved to Colorado in 1868 to carry on the family business. Between Phil, his dad and his grandfather and great grandfather, they’ve designed, built, and restored hundreds of windows here.
Phil and his wife Jane, who runs the business side of their studio, work out of a non-descript building in Englewood.
Some of his restoration work includes the windows at dozens of churches in Colorado, the stained glass at the Colorado State Capitol, the chapel on the DU campus, and the Brown Palace Hotel.
Phil says working on windows that are more than a hundred years old is tricky, because they are so fragile.
He pieces broken glass back together like a jigsaw puzzle and replaces the broken glass from his glass collection, some made by famous glass makers around the world.
He puts lead between the pieces, solders the joints, and uses a special cement to hold it all together. It’s tedious work, but Phil and Jane say it feels good to save a beautiful pieces of Colorado history.
The Watkins Stained Glass studio is part museum, featuring tools used by artists for decades. It’s part gallery, featuring Phil’s original works. And it’s a scrapbook, with newspaper and magazine articles about the family lining the walls. But more than anything, it’s a place where historic stories in glass are passed on to future generations.
Other stories from Gary Shapiro:
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS
9NEWS+
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.