Summarized by Eileen Bell

Nauvoo Firm Gets Opportunity To Make Temple Windows
Quincy IL Herald-Whig 10Jun00 B1
By Deborah Gertz Husar: Herald-Whig Staff Writer

NAUVOO, ILLINOIS -- This article details the careful, skilled work that will be needed to create the windows for the Nauvoo Temple. Craftsman Charles Allen of Nauvoo has been given the huge project. "It's more than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's quite an honor to be asked to do it. We didn't have to bid against anybody. They wanted things built a certain way, and we had the expertise to design it and build it."

Allen has created vintage windows in New York City and in Martha's Vineyard. He's been working on buildings in the Nauvoo restoration project since the mid 1970s. "They were just getting into restoration woodworking at that time. They made contact with me and wanted somebody to do windows and doors." His family opened the "Allyn House" shop in 1990.

It's not know yet how many windows will be needed for the new temple. Allen expects there will be more than 135 once it's done. "The biggest challenge is to come to grips with what we've been asked to do. We had to quadruple the size of the shop to take on the project. We added 15 pieces of new equipment."

Of course, his crew will have an advantage over the original window makers for the first Nauvoo Temple. "They had hand tools to do what we do with power tools, but if they're sharp and exact, you get more done than you think you would. In those days, labor was the low end of cost. Today, it's the high end."

Mouth-blown glass for the windows will come from France. Wood will come from Oregon and California. Special paint is coming from Holland. "We try to get an exterior paint finish to last in excess of 20 years. I hope to start painting the first of November."