Campus prisms

Designed by Louis C. Tiffany, the window is 30 feet wide, divided into three panels, and features 20 allegorical figures. The center panel’s main image represents Light, Love, Life, and is flanked by embodiments of Science and Religion. Art and Music are displayed in the two side panels. At first glance, one is awed by the vibrant blues, greens, reds, and yellows. But as one’s eye settles on the details, it’s the serene expressions, gentle gestures, flowing robes, and glowing halos that leave a lasting impression.

The Humanities Quadrangle, originally built in 1932 as the Hall of Graduate Studies, was completely renovated and reopened in 2021. The building’s 3,459 windows were replaced, and almost 300 original decorative stained-glass panes were repurposed within them. Walking through the main York Street entryway, visitors pass by many of these muted, grey-scale panes accented with hints of yellow. Once inside the gorgeous first-floor Student Lounge, with its comfy furniture and decorative coffered ceiling, there are numerous examples to contemplate. The individual panes require a closer look for full appreciation, including the feline, skeletal mastodon, salamander, Dodo, and the numerous ships of different eras.

Battell Chapel, the largest house of worship on campus, is used for different religious services as well as a venue for concerts and other events. It showcases a variety of stained-glass windows that honor many Yale notables. While multiple visits are required to enjoy all of them, one notable piece is the Tiffany window located in the upper northwest corner. The window honors Samuel Wells Williams, the first professor of the Chinese language in the United States. Climbing the balcony stairs offers a closer look at its striking reds, golds, and turquoise — its centerpiece being a large purple tortoise with a green head and bulging orange eyes. Above its nose appear seven Chinese characters that state “by his earnest endeavor, his achievements were great; by his justice, all were delighted.”

Throughout Sterling Memorial Library, stained glass windows can be found not only in the nave, but also in study rooms, hallways, and offices — 3,301 images in all. Walking through the main entrance, visitors can look upward to take in the ten large windows in the nave that chronicle Yale and New Haven’s founding and the library’s history. For a much closer study, step into the north aisle, a cozy seating area that overlooks the courtyard. Several small panes display vibrant motifs drawn from illuminated library manuscripts. One features David getting ready to hurl a stone at Goliath, and in another, an angel appears to sheepherders tending their flock.

The Yale Law School is adorned with numerous stained-glass windows, located in stairwells, classrooms, and offices. The Lillian Goldman Law Library Class of 1964 Reading Room features some representatives of tools of industry such as a wheat elevator, traffic light, and radio tower. In the Ruttenberg Dining Hall, where students study and snack, there are both colorful and grey-scale window decorations featuring Confucius, Maat, Egyptian Goddess of Justice, and the Death of Socrates. In a first-floor classroom, the windows contain what appears to be medieval kings, queens and courtiers in colorful attire. These images were copied from illustrations in Les Cartes à Jouer, a book on the history of playing cards.

The Yale Repertory Theatre has been staging productions since 1966. Initially built in 1871 as the Calvary Baptist Church, it was deconsecrated in the 1960s and its tall steeple removed, but its stained-glass windows remain. Today, it is the professional theatre in residence at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale where students train in theatrical disciplines such as playwriting, acting, set design, and stage management. The building contains a 479-seat auditorium and box office. The windows are very simple; there are no elaborate themes or symbols. Looking more closely at two windows that face York Street, one can spy ivy leaves and clovers.