Toronto’s Massey Hall is a legendary performance venue that’s hosted countless greats on its stage since it opened its doors in 1894. Its architect, Sidney Badgley, also designed churches so the inclusion of stained glass windows in the design of Massey Hall – Canada’s oldest functioning concert hall – was not surprising. Interestingly, the 93 spectacular stained glass windows were boarded over and hidden since the 1950s to keep light and street noise from disturbing the hall’s performances. The result was that the windows were not only severely damaged but dirty and full of caked-on grime. In July 2018, the downtown hall closed for a much-needed 145 million dollar restoration project that took over two years to complete. The windows “would have looked stunning when the building first opened,” said Eve Guinan, the owner of the Toronto-based EGD Glass, which is one of the two firms responsible for restoring the windows to their original glory.

The first step in the glass restoration was to carefully remove the windows and transport them to two glass studios in Toronto, EGD Glass and Vitreous Glassworks. The restoration teams had their work cut out for them — dismantling, cleaning, re-leading, weatherproofing and in some cases painting over 1600 sq ft of stained glass. They said it was a fascinating process bringing these historic windows back to life. Massey Hall reopened in November 2021 after the lengthy renovation which included, in addition to the revitalized windows, a new seven-storey addition and two smaller concert rooms.