Thorncrown Chapel

Thorncrown Chapel is a chapel located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, designed by E. Fay Jones and constructed in 1980.

The design recalls the Prairie School of architecture popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom Jones had apprenticed. The chapel was commissioned by Jim Reed, a retired schoolteacher.

Constructed mostly of wood and other materials indigenous to northwestern Arkansas, the design minimized material transportation costs. Though it looks like an open-air structure, the chapel is a glass-enclosed, conditioned space.

The building was selected for the 2006 Twenty-five Year Award by the American Institute of Architects, recognizing structures that have had significant influence on the profession. The chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 Buildings less than fifty years old can only be listed on the Register if they are of exceptional significance.

Famous quotes containing the word chapel:

    I went to the Garden of Love,
    And saw what I never had seen:
    A Chapel was built in the midst,
    Where I used to play on the green.
    And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
    And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
    William Blake (1757–1827)