The Le Deit Glass Company
The Wolfe & Wolfe buildings would not be as striking without the beautiful art glass that adds so much to their character. The stained glass clerestory windows with their Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired geometric designs, the stained glass insets in the dining room and living room built-in cabinets, and the leaded glass panes were designed and created by the Le Deit Glass Company of San Jose. Sylvain Le Deit founded the company as a one-man business in 1909, shortly before Wolfe & Wolfe began designing the Prairies. It grew to be a full-service glass company and expanded into millwork, employing over 60 people in its large plant on Lenzen Ave. The Le Deit Glass Company stayed in business until 1968.
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Ad for the Le Deit company.
![](LeDeit/sylvain_family.jpg)
Marcella Le Deit, Sylvain, and sons James and Sylvain Jr.
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Sylvain Le Deit lived in a Wolfe & Wolfe Prairie that was heavily decorated with beautiful art glass of his own taste, more Art Nouveau than the geometric Wright-inspired windows of the other Prairies. The home was small compared to the other Wolfe & Wolfe Prairies of its time but had much more art glass and many decorative elements.
![](LeDeit/frontwindows.jpg)
Close-up of the art glass windows in the living room, seen in the black-and-white picture at left.
![](LeDeit/ceiling1.jpg)
The entire living room ceiling was stained glass panels separated by heavy oak beams.
![](LeDeit/door.jpg)
The doors into the dining room are like shimmering gold.