From the Archives

Windows to the Past

Have you ever wondered what happened to the Old Ursuline in downtown Dallas? We’ve all seen pictures of those beautiful, gothic-style buildings. After serving the school community for more than 50 years, the structures had fallen into disrepair due to World War II rationing and had to be razed when the Sisters moved north in 1949 to their then-new campus on Walnut Hill Lane.

(Left) The St. Patrick stained-glass windows that once hung in the chapel of Old Ursuline (Above) Ursuline Academy of Dallas, downtown campus 1883 - 1949

But thankfully, not everything was lost. The Five Wise Virgins stained-glass window from the Old Ursuline Chapel was fabulously restored in 2010 and today hangs in the David M. Crowley Atrium of The French Family Center. And now, another piece of inspirational artistry from that historic structure has been gifted back to Ursuline.

A workman applied a crowbar to a high window casing of the old convent and remarked: “I sure hate to wreck this one. It’s like disposing of an old friend. My father was just a kid when this building was built in 1883.”

From a November 13, 1949, The Dallas Morning News article on the vacated buildings’ demolition

The Five Wise Virgins stained-glass window, David M. Crowley Atrium of the French Family Center

At the time of their move, as always, the Sisters looked to the future. They realized that many people would cherish a piece of the past – in remembrance of the old campus – so they held a garage sale. Everything from desks and other furniture to architectural elements were sold including other stained-glass windows that lined the sides of the chapel and depicted images of different saints.

The St. Patrick windows were purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Smith, the parents of Maureen Smith Gallagher ’51, to have in their homes in Texas and later in California. After their deaths, Maureen inherited the windows and moved them to Illinois where she planned to put them in her lake house. Instead, they sat in crates for decades, never being opened.

After Maureen’s own passing this past summer, her four children decided it was time for the windows to go home to Ursuline. Never opening the crates for fear of compromising the safety of the windows, Maureen’s son Bernard, who was responsible for Maureen’s estate, shipped them to Ursuline.

“It’s absolutely incredible that these two windows were shipped from Dallas, to California, to Illinois, and back to Dallas and are in virtually pristine condition,” said Claire Blanshard Webb ’97, Director of Alumnae, Parent, and Community Programs at Ursuline. “To receive a donation of this magnitude and historical significance is truly priceless!”

The antique windows, crafted in 1888, will be displayed in the beautiful new chapel planned for Ursuline’s West Campus, part of future improvements to be funded by The Campaign for Ursuline.

Architect’s illustration of future chapel, to seat 250