A few miles south of the Arizonan city of Sedona, there’s an unusual-looking structure tucked among the cliffs. It looks like it could be an observatory – or even a Bond villain’s lair – but it’s really a Catholic chapel from the 1950s. The Chapel of the Holy Cross was designed by sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude, who’d been a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright. Set against a background of Sedona’s characteristic red rocks, it rises up 250 feet high, silhouetted against the sky. The chapel’s central beams form the shape of a cross that looks like it’s been wedged between the rocks and can be seen for miles around. It has a peaceful, spiritual feel to it, whether you are religious or not. The inside of the chapel is fairly simple, but the surroundings and the views across Sedona provide all the beauty and decoration you could need.
The details
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is open from 9am–5pm (10am–5pm on Sundays). To get there, take Highway 179 south from Sedona for about three miles, then turn left onto Chapel Road.
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![Back on track 🚆 With so much uncertainty, it's been a strange time to be thinking or writing about travel. But after pretty much blankly staring at a screen for the last month I’m back blogging and using the time to catch up on some of the projects that've been lurking on my to-do list for too long. And first up is embracing my train geek side and creating full itineraries for my one-week European rail trip ideas. If you fancy exploring Europe by train when the world opens up again, these posts will tell you what trains to take, how much they cost, how to book and what to see along the way. The first is Northern Europe by train – a week-long trip packed with canals, chocolate, cosmopolitan cities and the stunning scenery of the Swiss Alps [link in bio]
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19 Comments
Anita Mac
July 29, 2013 at 12:15 pmStunning church location…gorgeous pics Luce.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 29, 2013 at 3:28 pmVery striking isn’t it? Despite being so modern it really seemed to work with the landscape.
Suzanne Courtney
July 29, 2013 at 1:27 pmLovely intense dessert tones in these shots. Would love to see the view from inside the Church – did you manage to get a look?
Lucy Dodsworth
July 29, 2013 at 3:25 pmThe church was very simple inside, just concrete walls and some seats, and the windows are a bit tinted so the best views are from outside where there’s a terrace (have one photo on Flickr of the view though I’m in the way a bit http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucydodsworth/9374129774/)
p.s. you’ve got me thinking about dessert now, might have to raid the biscuit tin!
Suzanne Courtney
July 29, 2013 at 1:29 pmSorry that should have read desert not dessert (must be this morning’s post about Turkish sweets I’ve just published lingering in my mind!)
Ziggy
July 29, 2013 at 2:51 pmBrings me back. Love the view from inside as well, except for that newish villa that gets your attention.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 29, 2013 at 3:27 pmI remember thinking the same thing about that villa, it definitely dominates the view – not sure I’d want to live somewhere quite so overlooked.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 29, 2013 at 3:27 pmThanks for reblogging!
damianl6578
December 28, 2013 at 8:52 pmNo worries!
aBitofCulture
July 29, 2013 at 5:28 pmHave you seen that film 7 Psychopaths, with Colin Farrell? I’m pretty sure the shoot-out at the end of the film is set there.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 29, 2013 at 8:59 pmI haven’t – will have to look that one up though to see if I recognise it!
restlessjo
July 29, 2013 at 9:11 pmBeautiful! 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
July 31, 2013 at 9:54 amThanks Jo, I loved the contrasts of all the bright colours.
Darlene
July 30, 2013 at 6:13 amI was quite taken with this structure when I took my mom to Sedona 4 years ago. Your pictures are fabulous. I agree it has a calming, spiritual feel to it.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 31, 2013 at 9:55 amIt does doesn’t it? We spent about an hour up there just looking at the views and soaking it all up.
kaylakrantz
July 31, 2013 at 6:22 amYour photography is amazing!! What camera do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?
Lucy Dodsworth
July 31, 2013 at 9:58 amThank you – I use a Nikon D5000 (I wrote a post about my photo equipment a while back if you are interested: https://www.ontheluce.com/2012/04/20/photography-kit-for-lazy-travellers/)
Arianwen
August 11, 2013 at 3:20 amHow unusual! I’ve never heard of this before. It could definitely be a Bond villain’s lair!
cristinasandru
August 11, 2013 at 7:02 pmWonderful post, thank you very much for sharing! The Chapel of the Holy Cross is impressive! 🙂
Best regards from Romania
God bless you!