Thorncrown Chapel

Description

Nestled in the Ozark woodland in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Thorncrown Chapel rises forty-eight feet into the trees, a cathedral of glass and timber reaching toward the Arkansas sky. With 425 windows and more than 6,000 square feet of glass, light does not merely enter this sacred space — it dwells there. Resting upon over 100 tons of native stone, the chapel seems less constructed than discovered, as if it grew from the forest floor itself.

Since 1980, more than nine million pilgrims have stepped into this woodland sanctuary. Designed by renowned architect E. Fay Jones, Thorncrown has received the highest honors of the American Institute of Architects, including the Design of the Year Award and the distinguished 25 Year Award, and was named among the greatest architectural achievements of the twentieth century.