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, who had purchased the land in 1971 and envisioned a non-denominational pilgrimage chapel set apart in the landscape for meditation. The design of Thorncrown Chapel was inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic church in Paris, France containing many windows and different types of glass to allow more light into the structure.
The chapel was selected for the 2006 Twenty-five Year Award by the American Institute of Architects, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, a status not granted to buildings fewer than fifty years old unless exceptionally significant. It was included in Budget Travel's list of "12 Most Beautiful Churches in America" and Bored Panda's list of "50 Most Extraordinary Churches Of The World."

Structure and status

The chapel stands 48 feet high, 24 feet wide, and 60 feet long. It has 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of clear glass. During the design process, Jones decided that in order to preserve the site's natural setting, no structural element could be larger than what two men could carry through the woods. Thus, larger elements of the building, such as the upward diamond-shaped trusses, were assembled on the floor and raised into place. The structure was constructed using organic materials indigenous to northwestern Arkansas including pressure-treated Southern pine and flagstone for the floor and surrounding wall. All of the wood was hand-rubbed with a grayish stain to blend with the bark of the surrounding trees and stone. The small ornamental roof skylight was later enlarged to provide additional natural lighting throughout the chapel.
The chapel looks like an open-air structure, but is, in fact, an enclosed air-conditioned space that seats up to 100 people. It is open daily from March to December with free admission, and is closed January and February except for weddings and other special events. Non-denominational church services are held in the adjoining worship center on Sundays from April to December.