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Home , Chancel, Church architecture

March - April 2004 Vol. 26, No. 2

Newsletter of the Cultural Resources Division Kansas State Historical Society

The tension between modern and traditional design in the twenty years after World War II left a powerful, lasting legacy on the ecclesiastical landscape of Kansas and the nation. Coverage on pages 5-13 he small white country church may be the stereotypical icon of religion in Kansas, yet religion in Kansas has taken place in the sometimes awkward combination of modern and traditional church styles imple- Tmented after World War II. These diverse architectural styles reflect the tensions and contrasts of the society that pro- duced them. While the years from 1945 to 1965 have the reputation of When embracing of all things modern, the era actually had both confidence in the latest in technology and devotion to established traditions. Worshipers said ancient prayers or sang familiar hymns from pews that had angled backs and padded seats. Revival Styles remained popular even as Traditional designers adapted the pared-down International Style to the ancient basilican model of church design. Severe geometric designs in abstract stained glass merged with the round church design from late antiquity. Even the commentar- Could Be ies from the time were mixed: some critics praised the contem- porary lines of the latest designs while others scoffed at what they called the “barn and silo” approach to building. The decades following World War II marked one of the great ecclesiastical building booms in American history. In Modern 1947, Americans spent $126 million on church construction. By 1953, that figure was $474 million. Two years later, that amount nearly doubled to $734 million. By 1960, Americans spent more than $1 billion on Religious Buildings church con- $1 Bil. struction nationwide, in Kansas After roughly 2.5 percent of all money spent on $500 Mil. World War II privately financed construction. Kansas was part $100 Mil. of this move- ment as well. 1947 1953 1960 For example, the Church construction spending Methodists, the nationwide soared in the post-war era. largest single religious group in Kansas during this time, spent nearly $1 million on church construction in 1955, an 800 percent increase from what they spent in 1940. Other groups and denominations were just as active. Baby Boomers and Suburbs Economics and demographics drove a lot of this con- struction. The generation that fought in World War II had This article was prepared by Jay M. Price, director of the settled down and started raising families. These growing “baby boom” families required a wide range of services, Public History Program at Wichita State University. A including those for spiritual needs. The combination of member of the Kansas Humanities Speakers’ Bureau, growing congregations and postwar prosperity meant churches could support major building programs. he has delivered talks in a number of Kansas First Presbyterian in Topeka was a good example. In 1950 communities on such topics as “Reading Roadside The Christian Century did a feature story noting how the church worked to include young families into the life of the Kansas” and “Exploring Kansas Churches.” congregation by, among other activities, remodeling the old Sunday school auditorium into a collection of classrooms. The congregation then launched a $230,000 building program to add a new wing for offices, a , a library, and a recreation room. In the nation’s larger cities, the development of suburbs 5 (Left) While the main sanctuary of First Christian in Wellington is in a classical design from the early twentieth century, its education wing has the simple lines, plate glass, and metal frames from the 1950s.

(Below) Evangelical and Pentecostal congregations emerged throughout Kansas after World War II. Sublette’s Southern Baptist Church is one example of the structures these congregations built.

offered a new mission field for the mainline denominations. The common paradigm involved churches catering almost exclusively to residents of a given neighborhood. These congregations consisted of relatively small groups who chose their house of worship because they happened to live nearby or because it was of a particular sect or denomination that potential members sought out. The ability to drive to the church of one’s choice rather than walk to the closest also freed congregations to locate demolition or relocation. As in larger Baptist churches for the entire state. By where land was cheaper. Because parking cities, the new construction sometimes the 1950s, there were Southern Baptist was a factor, lots had to be bigger, took place in stages, with the congrega- congregations in two-thirds of the encouraging construction in new areas or tion first constructing an all-purpose counties in Kansas, with over a dozen in on the outskirts of town where there were building that served as sanctuary, the Wichita area alone. fewer existing structures to contend with. classroom space, and parish hall. Once (or Sometimes, new congregations Whether intentional or not, the result was if) finances permitted, a second phase to emerged in the wake of a revival or were congregations made up of the self- complete the main worship space began. the result of intentional mission work. segregated social and cultural groups that In all these cases, modern buildings Sometimes, existing congregations split were the byproduct of the suburban implied status and conveyed the image over personal or theological issues, experience. For Kansas, the expansion of that these were dynamic prosperous resulting in a community supporting a churches into new neighborhoods was congregations fully part of the postwar collection of relatively small congrega- especially pronounced in cities such as boom. tions instead of a single, large one. When Wichita, Topeka, Salina, and the Kansas Another reason for church construc- resources permitted, these congregations City area. tion in Kansas was the growth of either constructed their own buildings or For the rest of Kansas, however, religious traditions that were relatively moved into older vacated churches. different patterns were at work. Smaller new to large parts of the state. Into the towns did not develop suburbs. Yet after 1930s, mainline denominations prevailed New Religious Traditions World War II, rural Kansas also experi- in Kansas. Starting in the 1940s, Kansas Although congregants still dressed enced a period of prosperity, allowing experienced a substantial growth of up to go to church, buildings from this existing congregations to remodel or Evangelical and Pentecostal congrega- period reflected the era’s embrace of replace their older sanctuaries. This tions such as the Southern , family-oriented informality. The World remodeling took place in three main forms. Churches of , Church of the War II generation respected tradition but The first was to retain the existing Nazarene, , and was put off by the stuffiness of earlier sanctuary but add on a new “education . These traditions eras. To reach these young families, wing.” The second was to add on a new expanded in Kansas with the “Southern churches had to make things informal, sanctuary and remodel the old one into Diaspora,” the migration of both white contemporary, and relevant. In terms of some combination of parish hall and and African American populations from church decoration, this meant that pews, classrooms. The third was to completely the South. For example, in 1936 U.S. , and remained but featured replace the old sanctuary by either census statistics listed six Southern odd angles, simplified forms, stylized 6 First Baptist Church in Kingman, which was dedicated in 1953, is a vernacular structure that combines mock buttresses and a Gothic arch over the entrance with the square nine-pane windows common to buildings in the middle of the twentieth century. The light brick was another common feature of mid-century construction. symbolism, and near-ubiquitous blond the tradition of revival styles, especially Revival Continues woodwork. The tone was sharp, angular, those that evoked a particular cultural or One approach to religious building crisp, and even severe. At the time, it historical tradition. Others opted for was to continue the revival styles of the seemed refreshingly light and airy in adaptations of the International Style, 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. As before, contrast to the ornate designs of the often applying the design to familiar Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival, and nineteenth century or the institutional interior arrangements. Still others Romanesque Revival were popular. The respectability of the early twentieth. Side experimented with unique combinations use of revival styles was especially windows became narrow rectangles filled of roof lines and floor plans mixed with pronounced in the late 1940s and early with clear glass or stained glass arranged elements of earlier styles. Moreover, 1950s, so much so that a 1947 article in The in regular squares or abstract patterns. countless vernacular forms took elements Christian Century wondered why America Asymmetry showed up in a variety of from these and other designs to make was so intent on being a church museum. ways, from off-centered crosses even humble buildings look up to date. In a society that was undergoing so to featuring one side wall made up Terminology was just as complex as many changes, a connection to tradition of windows and the other of masonry. the diversity of styles, in part because the was reaffirming. Worship surroundings Outside, there had to be ample space popular culture resonated with the word that evoked Medieval , the for parking as more and more people “modern” but was vague about what that Mediterranean of the early church, or the drove to services. As with homes, term meant. Popular writers tended to use Colonial society of the Founding Fathers religious buildings constructed after “modern,” “modernistic,” or “ultra- offered a sense of stability. To many, that World War II tended to sit back from the modern” to describe any design or was the way a religious building should street, surrounded by lawns and shrub- building that was not a revival. Some look. At first, these were different from bery. Even small churches could exist in called these designs “functional” or earlier structures in only minor areas such almost park-like settings if space and “contemporary.” Others were specific in as stylized decoration, abstract patterns resources permitted. In a number of using Modern to refer to the International in stained-glass windows, or windows with instances, congregations acquired a large Style. Because it is hard to talk about this metal frames instead of wooden ones. parcel of land so that they had room to era without using the phrase modern, for Revivalism also reaffirmed ties to expand once their membership grew. this essay, “Modern” refers to the ethnicity or culture. Books of the time, As with the rest of the nation, there International Style while “modern” is a such as Will Herberg’s Protestant- were a great variety of styles and designs more general term to describe the period -Jew or Hartzell Spence’s The for postwar religious in and its attitudes. Story of America’s Religions, described Kansas. Some congregations continued denominational differences as more 7 (Left) Not all religious structures extensive use of curtain walls made up of built after World War II were windows–gave architects and church “ultra-modern.” Revival styles builders a rich architectural language to continued as in this case of the work with. Devotees of the International Romanesque Revival East Heights Style felt that the mere imitation of earlier in architecture was inappropriate for citizens Wichita. of the twentieth century. (Above) The St. Mark Church of Architecture needed to show the God in Christ in Wichita began as simplicity and beauty of a structure and the home of Holy Cross Lutheran not hide it behind fake classical columns Church. The sanctuary featured a or Gothic arches. Buildings had curtain barrel vaulted roof down the walls of glass to open up the interior to . The asymmetrical arrange- the outside. The materials that made up ment of windows shown here trusses, walls, , and floors were was a popular feature for reli- part of the overall appearance. Wood gious buildings of this era. looked like wood, not faux marble. Walls reflected the earth tones of bricks rather matters of tone and heritage than Church of Christ, Scientist. The Revival than the white of plaster. Windows could theology. While exceptions certainly look extended throughout Kansas, be clear expanses of glass open to the existed, certain Revival styles tended to showing up in St. Thomas Catholic outside, although for religious buildings, be more common with certain denomina- Church in Stockton and Salina’s first abstract designs of stained glass were tions. For example, ever since the Oxford Missouri-Synod Lutheran Church, also common. In an age when Abstract Movement brought a renewed interest in Lutheran. Expressionism captivated the art world, Medieval and worship to the stained glass windows moved away from Anglican community, Episcopalians The International Becomes depicting images in favor of simple shapes nationwide, Kansas included, tended to Commonplace of various colors. favor Gothic Revival for their churches. The structure of the building itself Presbyterians and Lutherans also tended Although revival styles never fully became a major part of the design. toward the Gothic Revival. The Disciples went away, by the late 1950s they faced Architects expressed some of their of Christ and Evangelical groups tended growing competition from other interpre- greatest creativity in designing roofs. toward Colonial Revival or vernacular tations of religious architecture. In the Roof pitches ranged from flat to shallow adaptations that included brick with white wake of the Depression and World War to steep. Some churches sported trim. Methodists, with their wide spec- II’s devastation, European church adaptations of the gambrel roof while trum of theology and practice, were architects tended to break with revival others swooped upward with graceful among the most diverse in their embrace designs in favor of new approaches. In curves. Some used the A-frame arrange- of Revival Styles, featuring everything the United States, architects such as Eliel ment, reducing or even eliminating the from Medieval to Classical. and Eero Saarinen and Ludwig Mies van side walls. Some structures featured Kansas was very much in keeping der Rohe were part of a larger movement domes, barrel vaults, or hyperbolic with the national trend. Wichita’s College to incorporate expanses of glass, metal, paraboloids. Laminated wood trusses Hill neighborhood boasted Revival style and laminated wood into contemporary framed interior space. structures including the Romanesque ecclesiastical buildings. Roof arrangement was due in part to Revival East Heights United Methodist By the 1950s, the International Style– style. There seems to have been a trend Church and Colonial Revival Second with its asymmetry, lack of ornament, and for mainline denominations such as 8 (Above) The striking entryway to Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Atwood connects the sanctuary with the education wing.

(Right) After World War II, Overland Park Presbyterian added a new sanctuary to its Gothic Revival building that dated from 1930. The interior is typical of many religious structures from the time with the nave walls being mainly glass and the focal point a large plain cross on the chancel wall.

Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians centuries; however, for Protestants in the to focus on the sacrament of the , and Disciples of Christ to prefer steep 1950s the popularity of the basilican making this ancient form of worship space roofs or at least high interior spaces when arrangement represented a return to a fitting choice for new construction. possible. Cost may have played an even earlier forms. Since the days of John However, while earlier models of greater role. A number of small congrega- Calvin, many Protestant denominations ecclesiastical design favored the main tions started out in modest buildings with favored the meeting house arrangement entrance facing the street, the entrance to shallow roofs, but later added a larger of pews set around a central , often religious buildings in the 1950s was just sanctuary with a more imposing roof and with side galleries above. The as likely to be at the intersection of the interior space. brought the meeting house idea with them sanctuary and the education wing. This Although executed in contemporary to New England and Evangelical groups was a logical change since worshipers materials and designs, the model for many popularized aspects of the layout as they were more likely to enter from the nearest of these churches was the Gothic moved west to places such as Kansas. parking space than from the sidewalk in cathedral with its soaring interiors and By the early twentieth century, the front. In some cases, religious buildings walls of stained glass. Inside, there was “Akron Plan,” with side classrooms had to have two entryways: one that an emphasis on height and the opening out onto a central auditorium, faced the street and one that faced the worshiper’s eye was directed upward adapted the meeting house idea to parking lot. In this case, the onto the chancel wall, which in the 1950s Progressive-era . By the 1950s, became more of a breezeway connecting tended to feature a single large cross or however, the meeting house was out of the sanctuary and education wing. In crucifix. This symbol, not an ornate altar, fashion for many Protestants and the other cases, the main entrance was was the focal point of attention for these basilican model became the standard opposite the side facing the street, on new churches. image for what a church should look like. what prior generations considered the Regardless of denomination, the The basilican style better suited back of the building. churches of the 1950s tended to use the worship practices in the middle of the In some churches the chancel wall basilican layout: a rectangle entered twentieth century. Leaders in several faced the street and became the though a narthex or at one end Protestant denominations, including structure’s most visible face. Chancel with rows of pews separated by a central Methodists, the Reformed churches, and walls ranged from triangular to trapezoidal in the nave facing down to the Lutherans, fostered a renewed interest in in shape and could be plain; sport an chancel and altar. For Catholic churches and sacramental worship. The abstract design in the brick, glass, or this had been a standard design for basilican model had originally developed stone; or feature a large, simple cross. 9

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The two basic floorplans described in this article are the Basilican (left) and variations of the “Akron Plan” or meeting house design (right).

The edge of the roof was often at an angle, with the eaves at the peak extending farther out from the eaves lower down. Outside, steeples were still standard features of church design but were themselves stylized into narrow sharp points topped by a cross. Sometimes the cross was separate from the main building with its own supporting structure. By the early 1950s, congregations in Kansas started embracing these features. An early example was the modest asymmetrical chapel of Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita. It was a featured design in the December 1953 edition of Archi- tectural Forum, the article focusing on how inexpensive the design was at $23,700. The design later proved to be portable as well when the congregation moved the building to a new site in the early 1960s. By the middle of the 1950s, churches that seemed “ultra- modern” to the general public sprouted up across the state, (Top Left) The United Methodist Church in Atwood shows the including St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Newton. Some contrast between a worship structure from the early twentieth congregations, like Overland Park Presbyterian, or First century on the right and a 1950s-era addition. Methodist in Atwood, kept their original building but added a large new sanctuary. Even Jewish congregations, such as (Top Right) Dating from 1961, the sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El in Wichita’s Congregation Emanu-El built new structures with Wichita is round. The space is quite tall and the wooden sides similar décor and construction. Although circular in layout, emphasize that height. This emphasis on height, along with the Temple Emanu-El’s interior has seating facing a bimah (raised simple wooden furnishings, was common for religious buildings platform where the service is conducted) at one end. since the 1950s and 1960s. In Kansas, several Catholic structures stood out as (Bottom Right) St. Joseph’s in Yates Center is an particularly striking interpretations of 1950s design. From St. example of how structures in small Kansas communities reflected John the Evangelist in El Dorado to St. Joseph’s Catholic some of the trends found nationwide. The gable with its prominent Church in Yates Center, adaptations of Modern church peak and asymmetrical arrangement of windows and crosses mark architecture appeared in Catholic churches across Kansas. the structure as postwar, in this case, dating from 1955. 10 The design of the Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ulysses used hyperbolic paraboloids for the roof, for the walls, and stained glass for the spaces in between. The floor plan is more of an auditorium than a traditional basilican arrangement.

Overall, the distinctions in architec- ture that once marked different denomina- tions had diminished. Inside and out, these buildings were nearly indistinguish- able among denominations. They could be Catholic, Lutheran, or Presbyterian but could just as easily be Baptist, Methodist, or even Assembly of God. Gone were the ornate decorations of Catholicism or the side galleries of the New England meeting house tradition. In an age when the ecumenical movement worked to reduce gations were taking up the auditorium underneath. denominational friction–and where arrangement of Protestant worship. To The 1960s were a time of experimenta- religious tradition was, on the surface at make Catholicism more approachable, a tion in the design of religious buildings, a least, more about heritage than theologi- number of liturgical changes took place. trend that became even more pronounced cal differences–such interchangeable In the wake of Vatican II’s reforms, as the decade unfolded. Both Catholic architecture made sense. designers placed altars away from the and Protestant churches broke with the back wall out far enough for the priest to simple basilican box to construct A Return to Community face the congregation. For older churches from a wide range of floor plans. As the 1950s transitioned into the churches, the move was sometimes 1960s churches, such as First Methodist 1960s, designers started to move away difficult to implement; throughout the Church in Wichita or First Baptist in from the basilican design in favor of Catholic Church, tables appeared in Coffeyville, tended to emphasize walls different floor plans. Although architects and even naves to accommodate rather than roofs. In an era when had been experimenting with alternate the new liturgy. Elegant altar rails came congregations experimented with new conceptions for religious architecture out and Victorian era decoration disap- worship formats and theological ap- since the 1940s, it was not until the 1960s peared under coats of paint. While proaches, similar experimentation in that the many of their ideas appeared in awkward for older structures, the change religious building design made sense. moderate or small structures nationwide. in liturgy was well suited to the post- These worship spaces de-emphasized the Vatican II churches with variations on the Variations and Vernacular hierarchical nature of basilican structures auditorium arrangement of seating arcing Religious architecture after World in favor of layouts that emphasized around the central worship space. Even War II featured a wide range of styles. community. For example, the altar and small Kansas parishes embraced dramatic For example, congregations in Kansas in pulpit could be in the center of the designs. Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic the 1940s and 1950s sometimes con- worship space, with seating arranged Church in Ulysses featured a worship structed buildings along Art Moderne around the edges facing inward. space arranged diagonally. The roof lines. Buildings in this style featured Just as many Protestant groups were consisted of a series of hyperbolic limited ornament, flat roofs, and a embracing the basilican layout of the paraboloids with abstract stained glass horizontal appearance overall, often early Catholic tradition, Catholic congre- windows arranged in angled rows emphasized through horizontal stripes or 11 mullions. The style continued after World War II as well, showing up in Kansas in a number of buildings. One example was Wichita’s Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church whose horizontal lines in brick and stonework was in the Art Moderne tradition. Other 1950s religious structures in Kansas were the products of architects who had developed their own unique styles. The chapel of St. Benedict’s in Atchison represents this trend. Although the main Abbey building dated from the 1920s, the chapel was part of a 1950s expansion project. Barry Byrne, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the chapel to be a vast space of brick and stone with narrow vertical windows separat- ing the bays. The was flat and bore tiles of bold The chapel of St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison was the primary colors. product of Barry Byrne, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright Salina’s Sacred whose other works included St. Francis Xavier Catholic Heart Cathedral Church in Kansas City, Missouri. featured concrete cylinders that mirrored grain elevators. The tion in architectural circles when Eero interior and exterior Saarinen’s firm designed the chapel for its had simple Concordia Seminary in Indiana. concrete walls with The financial bottom line also few decorations. contributed to the popularity of Modern The one exception design. Architects favored a simplicity was the of that used relatively inexpensive, - ordinary people produced building materials, to the walking toward the delight of cost-conscious church main doors. The leadership. Journals such as the Archi- effect was closer to tectural Forum devoted whole sections New Deal-era work on how prefabricated materials and than the abstract innovative construction methods made designs popular in possible buildings that were both the 1950s. aesthetically pleasing and relatively Most congregations in Kansas could dark brick, colored glass panes in inexpensive to produce. Finally, many not afford to hire nationally renowned otherwise utilitarian windows, or stainless items of worship, from pews to pulpits, architects to design their buildings. steel details to look more contemporary. were available from supply stores that Vernacular adaptations varied with the There were several reasons why such increasingly embraced the contemporary designer and resources. Sometimes a designs became commonplace. One was look. By the late 1950s, the trend away simple, utilitarian building sported a that both leading architectural and church from revivalism was hard to avoid even if facade that looked modern to the people magazines promoted the embrace of these congregations wanted to. who commissioned the work, as in the new designs as an inevitable trend. Popu- case of the diamond motif on the front of lar style books such as Contemporary Toward the Future? Wichita’s Calvary Assembly of God. In Church Art and Modern Church Architec- During the 1950s, much attention was many cases, a new congregation con- ture reinforced this message, while litur- given to blending modern science with structed a modest brick or wooden gists discussed at length the need to adapt traditional faith. However, as the 1960s building with a shallow-pitched roof until worship practices and worship space to unfolded, innovation and change started finances permitted a sanctuary of a more present-day needs and ideas. to take society down uncertain and striking design. Many congregations Many among the new generation of uncomfortable paths. The ideal of constructed gable-roofed, rectangular got a heavy dose of Modern consensus among at least the mainline buildings topped with a cross (the way architecture from their seminaries. For churches gave way to near civil wars over the popular culture still suggested a example, the Lutheran Church-Missouri liturgy, ordination, and official church church should look); yet they incorpo- Synod, a denomination usually known for positions on everything from the war in rated patterns of contrasting light and its conservatism, gained national atten- Vietnam to desegregation. Demographic 12 (Above) Calvary Assembly of God in Wichita is a largely utilitarian building whose facade features a diamond pattern. It is one of the many ways that vernacular structures reflected the look of modern architecture after World War II.

(Right) Edward Schulte designed Salina’s Sacred Heart Cathedral to reflect the look of grain elevators. The walls for both the inside and the outside feature the concrete of which they are made.

changes in suburbia and shrinking rural Some structures had departed so far design in the twenty years after World populations left congregations with from traditional religious architecture that War II left a powerful, lasting legacy on declining numbers. Updated versions of congregations sometimes complained that the ecclesiastical landscape of Kansas traditional worship space may have they did not feel like they were in church. and the nation. appealed to the World War II generation; What was supposed to be sacred space yet these attitudes did not have the same felt cold and impersonal, more like a su- power for Baby Boomer youth who permarket or office building. The innova- tended to favor either alternative religious tive designs that architects loved became Suggested Readings traditions or . As the elder the churches that many worshipers loved generations wrangled over theology and to hate. “They reminded me of chicken Christ-Janer and Mary Mix Foley. Modern worship styles, the youth abandoned the coops,” remarked one colleague reflecting : A guide to the form and pews that they were once expected to fill. on the religious buildings of the era. spirit of 20th century religious buildings. New Starting in the mid-1960s, the national Even so, many new structures in the York, Dodge Book Department of McGraw- enthusiasm for church construction 1960s and 1970s still used popularized Hill Book Company, 1962. began to wane. “Let’s Stop Building versions of designs that went back to the Cathedrals” exhorted an article in The 1940s. Congregations that kept their Henze, Anton and Theodor Filtaut, translated Christian Century. Christianity Today older buildings “updated” the worship by Cicley Hastings and edited by Maurice Lavanoux. Contemporary Church Art. New warned that congregations were in danger space by adding new furniture and York: Sheed and Ward, 1956. of losing sight of in favor of interior decoration taken from national the idolatry of wanting more and more supply houses. By the late twentieth Holister, Desider. The House of God. New buildings. Moreover, vernacular adapta- century, mainline congregations started to York: Crown Publishers, 1946. tions of styles such as the International merge or move into newer buildings. had become so commonplace they lost Evangelical and Pentecostal denomina- Pelzer, Mary K. and Father Michael, eds. The their edge. A design that seemed tions acquired the now vacant 1950s and Catholic Diocese of Wichita Commemorates innovative and new in 1954 could look 1960s-era structures to accommodate the Its First 100 Years. Jostens Publications, almost ordinary in 1964 with church after needs of their growing numbers. There- 1987. church using many of the same features. fore, whether an International Style Rose, Michael. Ugly As Sin: Why They In particular, the overpowering roofs and showpiece, an adaptation of Gothic Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to soaring gables that were so daring and Revival, a striking church in the round, or Meeting Spaces—and How We Can Change confident in the 1950s could seem overly a vernacular hybrid of many styles, the Them Back Again. Manchester, NH: Sophia optimistic a decade later. tension between modern and traditional Institute Press, 2001. 13