The Unitarian Meetinghouse is being repainted in historically-accurate shades of gray, beige and taupe.

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If not, that’s about to change.

The building is getting an exterior makeover and will soon invite more attention to its interior as well. A new paint job, and a series of public lectures about its treasured stained glass windows are both in the works.

The Meetinghouse is trading its dark brown paint for a greenish-gray hue. Janis Gray, Vice President of the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst (UUA), said that the Society’s Aesthetics Committee began exploring the notion of repainting in the spring of 2005. They consulted with an architecture historian from Mount Holyoke College about historically-appropriate paint colors for the Cottage Gothic style building, which was built in 1893.

Gray said “The North Amherst Library is also Cottage Gothic style from the same period, and it has quite a range of colors.”

The palette choices were narrowed down and several options were presented to the congregation for a vote.

The winner: Benjamin Moore’s Desert Twilight as the main color, Berkshire Beige trim, Fairview Taupe for the entry and Cottage Red for the door.

“Depending on the light, the gray will show greenish elements or pinkish elements,” said said Peter Lacey, UUA Board President. “It will appear different colors at different times of the day.”

“We are aware that the Meetinghouse is an important and central part of the downtown area, and we hope people enjoy it,” Lacey said.

The painting is now underway.

The building also features two historically and artistically significant stained glass windows – one by Louis Comfort Tiffany on the west facing front, and a John La Farge triptych opposite it, facing east.

Gray said that both windows were believed to have been created around 1889. They had been part of a Unitarian Church in Roxbury and were given to the Amherst church around 1925 by the Unitarian denominational headquarters.

“They really are something that should be more known to the community,” said Gray. “To have a Tiffany and a La Farge staring at each other across the building is quite unusual. These stained glass artists were bitter rivals.”

The public is invited to learn more at a series of lectures and discussions intended to raise awareness of these works of art. The first will be held November 12th at 2:00 p.m., at the Meetinghouse, and will feature Mount Holyoke professor Paul Staiti giving a talk entitled “The American Renaissance: Art, Architecture and Civilization,” focusing on the “gilded age,” from which the windows date.

Plans are being made for a December lecture by stained glass conservationist and historian, Julie Sloan on Tiffany and La Farge and their rivalry.

-- Stephanie O’Keeffe

The front stained glass window is a Louis Comfort Tiffany original.

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Angel of the Lilies, by Louis Comfort Tiffany, circa 1889. Photograph by Carolyn Cave

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It's not your average parking lot that is overlooked by a John La Farge stained glass window.

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Jesus and his Apostles, John and Paul, by John La Farge, circa 1889. Photograph by the late Dick Stevens

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