June 18, 2024 - Tuesday - Today's adventure has been on my "To Do" list for a long time. We were in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles to visit the Judson Studios. Judson Studios is a fine arts studio specializing in stained glass. The studio was founded in the Mott Alley section of downtown Los Angeles in the mid-1890s by English-born artist William Lees Judson and his three sons. It moved to its current location in 1920 and remains in operation as a family-run business.
Over its first century of operation, Judson Studios produced more than 10,000 stained glass works, including the windows in the Hollyhock House, the rotunda skylight at the Natural History Museum in LA, the Congressional Prayer Room at the U.S. Capitol, and the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs, just to mention a few.
The marker at the entrance was originally a stop for the Red Car Trolley with a built-in seat.
The studios are in a residential area with a beautiful setting.
These are portraits of the Judson owners.
This is our tour guide Lee.
This is a design for a monastery in Wyoming. Judson has been working on it for 10 years.
This is one of the glasscutters employed by the firm. None of the cutters we saw wore gloves.
This design is for a municipal building that they're currently fabricating.
This is one of the four pieces in the center of the work.
This is one of the glaziers employed by the firm. The glazier fits the glass into the lead connectors. The piece is for a residential bathroom.
Once the lead is soldered together, a glue cements the glass to the lead.
In addition to new creations, Judson also does a lot of restoration work.
The gentleman above is restoring this piece for the Missouri State Capital Building.
On the second floor, more work is being done for the large municipal piece.
After touring the original building, we drove over to their second facility in South Pasadena. Here they do "Glass Fusing" and "Kilnforming" work. It's stained glass without the lead.
It's right next to Bullseye Glass.
This is a glass jet cutting tool that operates under very high pressure.
Right before our eyes, this gentleman cut this piece of black glass into a shape resembling a number seven. He said that it's so fine it would be impossible to cut with a conventional glass cutter without breaking the glass.
I found it fascinating. Judy had a problem navigating the tight spaces to see everything close up.
Here's a picture of the founder, William Lees Judson, in his "gentleman's pose."
We arrived early so we were able to have a rushed lunch beforehand at Penny's Burgers located nearby.
Their "Double Cheeseburgers" were monsters and the fries were great!
