Framing a new future for historic windows

  • Posted November 1, 2023
An octagonal stained-glass windows from the former Albany High School buildings

A group of 17 community volunteers has come together this fall to assist the City School District of Albany Board of Education in developing a plan for the future use of historic stained-glass windows that originally were on display in two former locations of Albany High School. 

The 16 colorful windows were gifts of Albany High graduating classes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They originally were displayed in the first Albany High building, which served students at the corner of Eagle and Columbia streets from 1876-1913 (in the current location of the Albany County Courthouse).

The windows then were relocated to the next generation of Albany High on North Lake Avenue between Washington and Western. That building served high school students from 1913-74, and then elementary students until 2005. The windows remained in that building until 2008, when the district had them professionally removed and stored for future use.

Check out this Nov. 5 story by Ch. 10 to learn more about the windows and the committee's efforts to preserve and display them.

The initial charge for the Ad Hoc Committee on Albany High School’s Historic Stained-glass Windows is to recommend three windows for installation during the final phase of renovation for the current Albany High facility at 700 Washington Ave. The committee also will assist the board in developing recommendations for the remaining 13 windows. 

The board appointed the community volunteers at its Sept. 21 meeting. The committee met for the first time Oct. 3, focusing on the history of each window and details of the selection process. The committee is scheduled to provide recommendations to the board’s Facilities Committee by Nov. 10, and the full board plans to review the recommendations at its Nov. 16 meeting.

We are grateful to the community volunteers serving on the ad hoc committee:

  • Stanley Axelrod
  • Willaim H. Chalmers 
  • F. Maxine Fantroy-Ford, Ed.D. 
  • Geoffrey Hamburg 
  • Marilyn Kaplan 
  • Diane Lemieur 
  • Sharon Denney Lobel 
  • Billie Murray
  • Julie O'Connor 
  • Anthony Opalka
  • Kelly Anne Ryan
  • Claire Minogue Stahler
  • George Stahler Jr.
  • Ronald Herman Symansky
  • Edra Nehme Tantillo
  • Erin Tobin
  • Tom Vacanti