For many families, the Beechwood Mausoleum is more than a place of entombment and inurnment. It is where generations gather to honour those they love, share stories, and find comfort in visiting inside a serene space. It is a place of quiet reflection, remembrance, and connection to their family heritage.
Completed in 1932, the Mausoleum has welcomed families for nearly a century. One of its defining features is its collection of beautiful stained glass windows, designed by James Blomfield of Toronto’s renowned Luxfer Studios. These windows have provided light, beauty, and solace to visitors for generations, while serving as an important part of Canada’s artistic and architectural heritage.
After decades of exposure to changing temperatures and natural sunlight, several of these historic windows have begun to deteriorate. The glass is developing bubbles between its layers, a condition that weakens the panels and, if left untreated, will lead to losing them forever.
Specialized conservation work is now required to stabilize and restore the stained glass. Because each window must be carefully removed, restored by skilled artisans, and reinstalled, the work is both complex and costly.
We believe that preserving this historic stained glass is essential to maintaining the history of the Mausoleum, and the reason that many families choose it to be their home forever.
Beechwood cannot save them alone, we need your help.
What is the strategy to save the stained glass windows?
We will be prioritizing the main large windows in the center chapel. They are in immediate need of repair within the next two years, or we may lose them forever.
Due to their extreme fragility, age and location, the cost to repair the chapel windows is $180,000.
Every contribution, regardless of its size, will help ensure that families continue to experience the same sense of peace and beauty that has welcomed visitors for nearly one hundred years.
Due to the fragility of the windows, Beechwood needed to pause repairing the main staircase leading into the Mausoleum, as it would require jackhammering, which would break the already unstable windows. As a temporary solution until the windows are restored, the stairs can only receive patch work.
Fixing the instability of the windows in the center of the Mausoleum will be the first phase of the restoration work. We will then be moving throughout the Mausoleum to fix the windows on the Eastern and Western ends. Following that restorative work, we will repair individual windows that branch off to the North and South. As we move through the project, we will be prioritizing any glass windows that we are at risk of losing.
Your generosity will help safeguard not only an important historic Beechwood landmark, but also a place of remembrance that continues to serve thousands of families each year.
To recognize donors who contribute $2,500 or more to the Mausoleum Restoration Project, their names will be added to a permanent plaque within the Mausoleum, honouring their generosity and helping preserve this remarkable piece of Beechwood’s history for generations to come.
Your support will not only help restore these beautiful historic windows, it will leave a lasting mark on the preservation of the Mausoleum and its legacy.
