Thorncrown

Just a beautiful church in the middle of the Ozarks. 

So the story goes (from the Thorncrown Chapel pamphlet): 

“Jim Reed purchased the land in 1971 to build his retirement home, however, other people admired his location and would often stop at his property to gain a better view of the beautiful Ozark hills.  Jim and his wife decided they should build a glass chapel in the woods to give visitors a place to relax in an inspiring way.

“Jim met E. Fay Jones, a professor at University of Arkansas and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, who quickly accepted the proposal to build the chapel.  On March 23rd 1979, construction crews broke ground.  However, half way through the project funds began to run out and the building process soon ground to a halt.  Jim felt he had made the biggest mistake of his life as he desperately, but unsuccessfully, tried to raise funds.  One evening Jim took what he thought would be his final walk down to the half-finished chapel.  Jim describes his experience as “…I prayed more seriously than ever before”.  A few days later a generous woman from Illinois provided a loan, allowing Jim to finish the chapel”

The chapel contains 425 windows and over 6000 square feet of glass.  It rests on over 100 tons of native stone and is made with all organic materials.  The chapel was awared the American Institute of Architecture National Honor Award and was listed as fourth on AIA’s Top Ten Buildings of the 20th Century.

Well worth the excursion over to Random, AR.