Sunday Church Digitized Analog Phot-o' the Day in B&W: Chapel of the Holy Cross; Sedona, Arizona

 

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a Catholic Church located on the outskirts of Sedona, Arizona. I am using the term "outskirts" generously, as it is not really near much of anything (except acres and acres of red rock). But it is a functioning Catholic Church.

For the longest time, I thought this church building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's not. It's about as Frank Lloyd Wright as the Empire State Building. Or last night's bowl of pasta bolognese, for that matter. The architect was local gal Marguerite Brunswig Staude. She was inspired by ... not by any Frank Lloyd Wright designs ... but by ... wait for it ... the Empire State Building. Personally, I don't see the resemblance, but I'm not an architecture professional. She first tried to build a church of this design in Budapest, Hungary, with the assistance of ... wait for it ... FLW's son Lloyd Wright. Plans were abandoned because of this thing called World War II. You know, the one with Hitler.

That's too tenuous of a connection to Frank Lloyd Wright to have been the basis for my thought that this is a Frank Lloyd Wright work. Why I thought so is just a mystery. One of the joyful mysteries. It's not really one of the sorrowful mysteries.

Phot-o' the Day: View of Jerome, Arizona

Jerome, Arizona, is a "ghost town" in the mountains north of Phoenix. As a "ghost town," it is absolutely packed with well-heeled tourists, wandering the street (I think the whole town is one long street with no side streets to speak of), going from overpriced souvenir shop to overpriced souvenir shop to overpriced chai tea latte shop. It's basically Sedona on a mountainside, albeit without the vortexes. Or are they vorticies? I've never felt the magic of one on the two times I've been to Sedona, so I'm oblivious.

So the retail in Jerome is wealthy-tacky, but the mountain scenery in Jerome -- and especially driving to Jerome -- is beyond spectacular. Very much worth it, despite the in-town conspicuous consumption.

Drove through in November 2012.