I bought them in October and had to take them out in November. They were slated for demo, said collector Paul Brown of Lititz, Pa. No one knew they were Tiffany. Each window is eight foot round. Commissioned, designed and crafted ca. 1905 by Tiffany Studios, the pair of giant stained glass windows were set in the sandstone gable ends of St. Pauls Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue. St. Pauls was completed in 1906 and was supported in part by merchant John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia department store fame. Not a member of the church but a dedicated Presbyterian, Wanamaker was known to lend to various evangelical causes. This is where the history of the windows sadly turns murky. According to period newspaper accounts, the churchs dedication did not mention the windows were by Tiffany Studios but were included in the companys 1910 list of commissions as Wanamaker Memorial. Fast forward to 1972, the congregation of St. Pauls sold the church building to the Hickman Temple AME Church. The AME church closed several years ago, and the church building was again sold in 2022, this time to the Emmanuel Christian Center, who is conducting a renovation of the Gothic space into a modern youth worship center. Back to the murky history, in poor condition, covered in filth, and due to a lack of historical record keeping, a recent historic assessment and nomination for the building did not include mention of the Tiffany windows. As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, among other sources, Brown learned about the windows through Facebook Marketplace and paid the Emmanual Christian Center $6,000 for the pair as well as wooden pews, doors, and some other items in the fall. Still no knowledge they were from the Tiffany Studios, but seeing potential, it was up to Brown to have the windows removed, after which he took them to Freemans Auction House for an appraisal. Freemans had them professionally cleaned and learned of the Tiffany Studios manufacture. They were each given an estimate of $150,000-$250,000. As reported by the New York Times, the pastor of the Emmanuel Christian Center didnt know of potential monetary value of the windows when selling them to Brown. Construction of the new church is suspended according to the Philadelphia Inquirer because the congregation has run out of money. Also reported, the Christian Center had asked an attorney to negotiate with Brown for a portion of the proceeds. The church is getting 25 percent of the net proceeds, stated Brown to Antiques & Auction News following the sale. The figure comes out to $50,000. Each window brought $100,000 ($126,000 with buyers premium) at Freemans Design Sale held May 18. The auction house stated the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.