Community Christian Church (Kansas City, Missouri)
Community Christian Church was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and sits across from the Country Club Plaza's main shopping district on Main Street at East 46th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination, which has a heavy representation in the Kansas City area.
In April 1940, members of the church congregation contracted Wright and asked him to design a new building to replace their previous church which had been destroyed in a fire. Wright based his design on a parallelogram including some features previously conceived for his last building for Johnson Wax Company, along with one additional unique feature: a spire of light. Due to high building costs, the scale of the church was reduced during construction. The auditorium was cut back from a planned 1,200 seats to 900 seats, many details were eliminated, and the building was sheathed in gunite, a form of lightweight concrete, over Wright's objections. The spire of light also could not be built and illuminated due to technical limitations of the times. However, the church was dedicated on January 4, 1942, and served the congregation well.
In 1994, the Steeple of Light was finally completed as planned by Kansas City artist Dale Eldred. Eldred died in 1993 before it was completed, so his partner and collaborator Roberta Lord finished the project.[2] The components are housed on the church roof inside of a perforated dome on the building's northwestern corner. The spire is created by four 16-inch (41 cm) xenon bulbs ignited by 40,000 volts of electricity, that, in combination with a parabolic reflector, produces 300 million candlepower of illumination (per light, 1.2 billion cp total) in a near-perfect column.[3] The spire can be seen for miles around Kansas City, and reportedly can be spotted 10 miles (16 km) north of the Plaza, depending on conditions. It has been calculated to stop at least 3 miles (4.8 km) above the Earth, about half the maximum height at which jet airplanes fly. The Steeple of Light is lit regularly on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays;[1] has extended hours on holidays; and remains dark on the two days before Easter. Its lighting is one of the features of the annual Plaza lighting ceremony.
Walk-in tours of Community Christian Church are open to the public and free of charge, and guided tours may be scheduled by calling or emailing the church at least two weeks prior to a visit.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b Cole, Suzanne P.; Engle, Tim; Winkler, Eric (April 23, 2012). "50 things every Kansas Citian should know". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ Julie Denesha (2016-12-23). "With 'The Steeple of Light,' A Kansas City Artist Left A Legacy By Connecting To The Heavens". KCUR. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
- ^ Community Christian Church.org: Facts & Figures - Steeple. Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Community Christian Church: Tour Information. Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2; S. 280
External links
- Church website - building info
- Community Christian Church on peterbeers.net
- v
- t
- e
- Adams, M.
- Adams, W. and J.
- Adelman
- Affleck
- Allen–Lambe
- Alsop
- Arnold
- Bach
- Bachman–Wilson
- Baird
- Baker
- Balch
- Baldwin
- Barton
- Bazett
- Beachy
- Becker
- Blair
- Blossom
- Bogk
- Boulter
- Boynton
- Bradley
- Brandes
- Broad Margin
- Brown
- Buehler
- Bulbulian
- Charnley
- Cheney
- Christie
- Cooke
- Coonley
- Copeland
- Crimson Beech
- Dana–Thomas
- Davidson
- Davis
- DeRhodes
- Dobkins
- Ennis
- Fabyan
- Fallingwater
- Fawcett
- Forest
- Foster
- Fountainhead
- Freeman
- Fredrick
- Fricke
- Friedman
- Fukuhara
- G. Furbeck
- R. Furbeck
- Gale, L.
- Gale, T.
- Gale, W.
- Gerts
- Gilmore
- Gillin
- Glasner
- Goetsch–Winckler
- Gordon
- Grant
- Graycliff
- Gridley
- Hanna–Honeycomb
- Hardy
- Haynes
- Heath
- Heller
- Henderson
- Heurtley
- Hickox
- Hills
- Hoffman
- Hollyhock
- Jacobs I
- Jacobs II
- Johnson
- Jones
- Kalil
- Keland
- Kentuck Knob
- Keys
- Kinney
- Kraus
- Lamberson
- Lamp
- Laurent
- Levin
- Lewis
- Lewis, L.
- Manson
- Marden
- D. D. Martin
- W. E. Martin
- May
- McBean
- McCarthy
- Millard
- Miller
- Millard, G.
- Moore
- Mosher
- Mossberg
- Murphy
- Neils
- Olfelt
- Palmer
- Pappas
- Parker
- Pauson
- Penfield
- Peterson Cottage
- Pew
- Pope–Leighey
- Rayward
- Rebhuhn
- Reisley
- Richardson
- Roberts
- Robie
- Roloson
- Rosenbaum
- Rudin
- Samara
- Sander
- Schaberg
- Schwartz
- Serlin
- Shavin
- Smith, G. W.
- Smith, M.
- Smith, R.
- Sondem
- Spencer
- Staley
- Stockman
- Storer
- Stromquist
- Sturges
- Sullivan
- Sunday
- Sutton
- Sweeton
- Tan-Y-Deri
- Thaxton
- Thomas
- Tomek
- Tonkens
- Tracy
- Trier
- Turkel
- Wall
- Walker
- Walser
- Walter
- Westcott
- Westhope
- Weltzheimer
- Willey
- Williams
- Willits
- Wingspread
- Winslow
- Woolley
- Wright, D. and G.
- Wright, D. and J.
- Wright, R.
- Wynant
- Yamamura
- Young
- Zeigler
- Zimmerman
- Anderton Court Shops
- Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
- Arizona Biltmore Hotel
- Auldbrass Plantation
- Banff National Park Pavilion
- Beth Sholom Synagogue
- Child of the Sun at Florida Southern College
- Community Christian Church
- Como Orchard Summer Colony
- Coonley School Playhouse
- E-Z Polish Factory
- Eddie's House
- Fasbender Medical Clinic
- German Warehouse
- Guggenheim Museum
- Hillside Home School I
- Hillside Home School II
- Hoffman Auto Showroom
- Horse Show Fountain
- Humphreys Theater
- Imperial Hotel
- Jiyu Gakuen Girls' School
- Johnson Wax Headquarters
- Kundert Medical Clinic
- Lake Mendota Boathouse
- Lamp Cottage
- Larkin Administration Building
- Lawrence Memorial Library (Springfield, Illinois)
- Lindholm Service Station
- Lockridge Medical Clinic
- Marin County Civic Center
- Midway Barn
- Midway Gardens
- Riverview Terrace Restaurant
- Roberts Stable
- Rookery Building
- Romeo and Juliet Windmill
- Park Inn Hotel
- Pettit Chapel
- Pilgrim Congregational Church
- Price Tower
- Frank L. Smith Bank
- Teater Studio
- Unitarian Society Meeting House
- Unity Chapel
- Unity Temple
- V. C. Morris Gift Shop
- Waller Apartments
- Wyoming Valley School
- Olgivanna Lloyd Wright (3rd wife)
- Lloyd Wright (son)
- John Lloyd Wright (son)
- Anne Baxter (granddaughter)
- Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson)
- Maginel Wright Enright (sister)
- Richard Bock (associate)
- Mamah Borthwick (client and lover)
- Marion Griffin (associate)
- Walter Burley Griffin (associate)
- George Mann Niedecken
- Jaroslav Josef Polívka (associate)
- The Last Wright: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Park Inn Hotel
- Shining Brow
- Loving Frank
- "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"
- Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright
- The Women
- The Wright 3
- Commons
- Wikinews
- Wikiquote