I say shower curtain, and here are my reasons/opinions:

a) Shower curtains are more period appropriate; if you're going to all the trouble and cost of restoration-style stuff like basketweave floors yadda yadda, why stick in this big modern-style slab of glass? High-end houses of the Thirties might have a glass door in a stall/alcove shower, but they would be framed swing doors rather than fixed, frameless slabs.

b) If you purchase the Watershed shower curtain from the Plow & Hearth catalog, it dries quickly enough in all except the soupiest weather that you can push it back almost immediately, to show off the tilework and make the room seem more open. I love ours. I admit I've washed it all of three times in the ten-ish months that our bathroom has been in use! *sheepish grin* We have never had any problems with it flapping, billowing, or sticking to anyone. You can also use the Watershed as a liner with a decorative curtain that hangs outside the tub and also looks good pulled back.

c) Shower curtains and other textiles in the bathroom help mitigate the "echo chamber" effect of all the hard surfaces.

d) As you pointed out, the solid glass wall is more physically confining. It's much easier to thump an elbow while washing your hair on a glass wall than it is a piece of fabric... If you actually wanted to take a bath in there, it would be like bathing in a box, or as you said a coffin! If you have or will have small children, it would interfere with bathing them once they graduate out of the kitchen sink. ;-) And if the glass wall is on the faucet end of the tub, wouldn't it be kind of a PITA to reach in to turn on or adjust the water? If it's on the other end of the tub, wouldn't you still get water spray coming out of the open section?

e) Although a frameless, fixed piece of glass won't be quite the crud magnet that sliders are, if everyone who showers there is not careful about squeegeeing or wiping down the glass after showering, you will very likely end up dealing with ugly water spots and streaks. Even if I wanted large expanses of glass I would never have them in my house because my "absent-minded professor type" DH would simply forget to clean the glass every time he showered, and I'd be the one stuck scrubbing off the hard-water marks. Products like Rain-X can help but don't eliminate the problem. Hard water can actually etch glass, too, if life gets away from you and water marks are allowed to sit (ever have a vase get that haze inside that comes back even after cleaning?). Not good.

f) With large sheets of glass, you may have to change your soaps, shampoos, conditioners, shaving creams, etc. to products that won't gunk up the glass as quickly. If you are very picky about your toiletries, have to use prescription products, or have a lot of allergies that make it difficult to find products you are happy with, this may be a problem.

g) You can always start out with a shower curtain and change over to a glass panel/door later if you decide you don't like it. Shower curtains are usually a lot cheaper than big glass panels, and thus it is not as big a deal if you decide "I hate this" and get rid of it.

You bring up some excellent points! Thanks so much!

We just went through a remodel and had the same decision to make (in fact if I didn't know better, I'd think I'd written your post myself) the only difference was my DH wanted the glass and I wanted a curtain.

We went with just a curtain but had them put in the supports behind the wall for the door thinking that we would try it with a curtain and if it was horrible we would get the glass.

It's only been a few weeks, but we love the curtain (even DH) and would never go back to a door.

Anyone using shower curtains effectively in a shower stall? I'd like to get rid of the tub and aviod the glass doors. It's like adding a wall.

mle17, have you chosen the console yet? Where will you get it?

Check out shower screens. The company, Cesana, has some excellent models. We will be using a glass "screen" on our remodel. They mount along the wall side and pivot with no hardware on tub to gather mold. The have several styles that cover 1/4, 1/2, or the full tub area. They are gorgeous and are available through kitchen/bath retailers. I do not want to use a shower curtain because I want to show off the gorgeous tile and open up the room.