Inside Adamm’s Stained Glass Studio & Art Gallery, Santa Monica. Los Angeles Almanac Photo.
He was once a U.S. Navy pilot who flew anti-submarine patrols. Today Adamm Gritlefeld is a glass artist and prominent restorer of historic stained glass. His Santa Monica gallery and studio, Adamm’s Stained Glass Studio & Art Gallery, not only offers what is said to be the largest selection of art glass in Southern California, but is cited among Santa Monica’s must-visit places.
After moving to the Los Angeles area from San Francisco, Gritlefeld opened his stained glass workshop in Santa Monica in 1972, offering stained and leaded glass creations, beveled glass, etched and carved glass windows, doors and skylights, and Tiffany lamp reproductions. In 1976, he began representing other glass artists and now represents the work of more than 220 artists from across the United States and Canada.
Stained glass was popular in Los Angeles during the 1920s and 1930s and is today found in thousands of local older homes and buildings. Among these, Gritlefeld's restoration work can be found at a long list of homes, hotels, businesses, restaurants, schools, churches and synagogues. In 1990, he ventured into historic stained glass restoration at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park and went on to do work in other historic buildings such as the Oviatt Building and Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in Downtown Los Angeles and the Rubel Castle in Glendora. His restoration work is also found at UCLA, USC, Mount Saint Mary’s University and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
Stained glass window, “The Carousel,” at PIH Medical office in Montebello (formerly a Home Savings of America branch). Designed by Susan Hertel. The stained glass was restored by Adamm Gritlefeld. Los Angeles Almanac Photo.
Adamm’s Stained Glass Studio & Art Gallery
1426 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
