Volunteers work to assemble glass mosaic for Penn Theater following Steeples & Stacks
The end of the inaugural Steeples & Stacks Heritage Weekend was only the beginning of an art installation which should last for years to come.
Over the two days of Steeples & Stacks this weekend, volunteers worked on a glass mosaic to be placed on the side of the Penn Theater on Main Street. The five-panel mosaic, designed by glass artist Carrie Ann Strope, incorporates many aspects of the history of Butler County, including the Penn Theater itself.
“We’ve got a marquee at the top, and we’ve got a film reel,” Strope said. “The actual film cascades down the middle of the mosaic, and there are scenes from Butler’s history and present day. We’ve got an oil derrick, we’ve got a ladle with steel, and we’ve got a Pullman car.”
Work on the glass mosaic continued Sunday, July 12, when volunteers returned to the Penn Theater tent to finish the process of gluing the broken glass onto the five mosaic sections.
Strope is based in Lincoln, Neb., and has been involved with the creation of numerous glass mosaic installations across the country, including one for the Michigan Glass Project in Detroit in 2024. She says she has fallen in love with Butler since she’s arrived in the city.
“I’m having such a great time,” Strope said. “Everybody’s so friendly, and it’s a nice small community.”
According to Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche, the idea to create a glass mosaic during Steeples & Stacks — along with other glass-themed activities, such as glass-blowing demonstrations — served as a tribute to Butler County’s historic ties to the glass industry.
“We were celebrating the glass industry because part of this event was about celebrating the heritage that we have in industry ... and a lot of our history was in metals and glass manufacturing,” Osche said. “It was a fusion of art with a celebration of the fact that we have great glass manufacturers here in town.”
When the mosaic is finished, it will be placed on the side of the Penn Theater, replacing the posters that adorn the building.
“We’re going to move these, because we’re going to want (the mosaic) to be on this side of the building, facing the street,” Osche said.
Work on the glass mosaic will continue until Tuesday, when Strope will lead a “grouting party” in which volunteers will team up to seal the glass pieces into place with a grouting substance.
