Thorncrown Chapel

Carroll County, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Thorncrown Chapel, completed in 1980 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is a non-denominational meditation chapel designed by E. Fay Jones, who had apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright. Drawing on the Prairie School tradition, the structure also references the Gothic splendor of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, particularly its luminous stained glass windows. Named after the Crown of Thorns relic housed in the Parisian chapel, Thorncrown combines Streamline Moderne and Prairie School aesthetics in a design that earned the American Institute of Architects' Twenty-five Year Award in 2006. The chapel was commissioned by Jim Reed, a retired schoolteacher, as a personal pilgrimage space. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, unusually early for such recognition, and has been celebrated internationally for its architectural and artistic merit.