Architect Duncan Stroik sent some pictures today from the rapidly moving completion of the great Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin (click on thumbnails for larger images). The building is set to be dedicated on July 31st, 2008 though it should be finished a month or so before that. If anyone is still in the “it just can’t be done any more” school of beautiful liturgical art and architecture, this will gently nudge them out of it. The building See Related Story.
Springfield Cathedral Update
——Wreckovation Update: This is mediocre ineptitude, and architect Joseph McCarthy’s building deserves better.partakes of a recognizable language of classical architecture, with its great baldachino framing the mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the rear wall behind in much the same way that the baldachino of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome frames the great Chair of Peter. Of particular interest is the level of design and craft found in the baldachino itself, where a coffered dome forms the underside of the canopy. It has been many decades indeed since something this sophisticated has been built in the United States. In the architecture of the new springtime, this building proves that not only has the ground warmed, but the seeds are sprouting and coming to flower.
February 22, 2008 at 10:24 pm
“If anyone is still in the “it just can’t be done any more” school of beautiful liturgical art and architecture, this will gently nudge them out of it.”
I think this is beautiful, but how does the budget for construction compare to other (ugly) parish construction projects? How many parishes would be willing to pay for something like this?
February 22, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Cheap need not be ugly. Nothing is free except good proportions, but a similar building could be done with fewer columns, plaster instead of marble, a smaller organ, and so on. The method of classical design lends itself very well to smaller budgets. You just make the beauty simpler. A saline solution can be 50% salt or 10% salt. But its still salt and water, not arsenic.
February 22, 2008 at 10:49 pm
If you’d like to see a small classical chapel for $1.4 million, here’s a link:
http://www.francklohsen.com/#/portfolio/ecclesiastical/saint-benedict/
February 22, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I can’t see the windows in the pictures. Are they stained glass? If so, any theme?
February 27, 2008 at 10:19 pm
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is in my home town, I’ve been there several times. There is a chapel, gift shop and really good restaurant as well as a Votive Chapel that is amazing. The chapel has stained glass showing various manifistations of Mary throughout history with hundreds of candels in the center. Past the chapel is a trail that includes the Stations of the Cross leading to the new church. I’m can’t wait for the opening.
The land for the Shrine was donated by a local family. The construction money all came from special collections, the whole project was the vision of Bishop Burke (now Archbishop of St Louis).