Sunlight Dances Through 400+ Windows at This Ozark Mountain Chapel

Thorncrown Chapel, Arkansas

Deep in Arkansas woods sits a church made almost entirely of glass. Thorncrown Chapel looks like it grew straight from the forest floor, all light and air and reaching branches. Locals call it the best thing Jim Reed ever built, and they might be right. Here’s the story of America’s most stunning glass chapel.

Jim Reed Wanted A Place For Quiet Thinking

The chapel started as Jim Reed’s dream for a place where people could think and pray in the forest. In 1971, Reed bought the land to build his retirement home.

When hikers kept stopping at his property to see the beautiful Ozark hills, Reed chose to welcome them rather than put up fences.

A Prayer Saved The Half-Built Chapel

When money ran out during building, Jim Reed knelt in the half-finished chapel and prayed “more seriously than ever before.”

Banks had turned Reed down, saying nobody builds glass chapels for tourists in their backyards in Arkansas.

Days later, a woman from Illinois offered a loan to finish the project. Reed found architect E. Fay Jones who approached him during breakfast.

Work began in March 1979 and finished by the summer of 1980.

Two Men Could Carry Every Building Piece

Architect E. Fay Jones decided that no part of the chapel could be bigger than what two men could carry through the woods.

The main materials are pressure-treated pine boards in 2×4, 2×6, and 2×12 sizes. All trusses were made from local pine and put together on-site.

Workers cut the pine pieces lengthwise to make them easier to carry. Jones also brought in skilled stonemasons and carpenters to do the work.

The Ozark Gothic Cathedral Design

E. Fay Jones based his design on Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic church in Paris with countless narrow, stained-glass windows.

The name “Thorncrown” came from the Crown of Thorns relic kept in the Paris cathedral. The style borrows elements from early 1400s European cathedrals.

Unlike traditional Gothic buildings, Thorncrown’s supports are inside rather than outside, creating a totally new approach to an ancient style.

The Foundation Uses 100 Tons of Local Stone

Under the chapel rests more than 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone that helps it blend into the rocky Ozark landscape.

The floor uses the same flagstone, picked to match the area’s natural terrain. Rather than changing the hillside, the foundation follows the land’s natural shape.

Built on a sloping site surrounded by maple and oak trees, the chapel connects to a low rock wall that further ties it to the setting.

Truss Design Flips Traditional Architecture

Instead of using outside supports like traditional Gothic cathedrals, Thorncrown’s trusses hold the roof and brace the walls from inside the building.

This smart design allows the walls to be mostly glass. The clever arrangement of overlapping elements blurs the line between inside and outside.

The chapel was built with perfect acoustics for both music and speaking. This structural breakthrough creates a pattern of vertical lines split by space and light.

425 Windows Create a Magical Forest Effect

The chapel contains exactly 425 windows, making up over 6,000 square feet of glass that reflects at night, making the crosses appear bright.

Each window fits precisely into the wooden frame’s complex geometric pattern. The treated yellow pine supports were stained gray.

Forest Elements Transform Inside The Chapel

The inside design works like a forest model, with parts that grow more complex as they rise from floor to ceiling.

The supports start as simple column “trunks,” then become lattice “branches,” and finally form a roof “canopy.”

Jones described it as “a forest within a forest.” The glass walls make the heavy structure seem light and almost invisible.

The Chapel Has Perfect Size Proportions

From floor to ceiling, the chapel measures exactly 48 feet high, 24 feet wide, and 60 feet long. These perfect proportions were based on Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, a Gothic church famous for its bright, jewel-like interior.

The floor plan runs parallel to the level lines of the land. A skylight in the middle of the roof lets sunlight pour down on visitors below. The path to the chapel also follows the land’s natural lines, so no steps were needed.

3,000 Weddings Happened Since Opening Day

Around 250 couples get married in the chapel each year, with the pastor having performed over 3,000 ceremonies since the chapel opened.

The space holds up to 100 guests comfortably. Unlike many venues, Thorncrown keeps a full-time minister on staff for weddings.

Couples enjoy indoor ceremonies with air conditioning while feeling connected to the outdoors with their scripture-based traditions.

Non-Denominational Services Welcome Everyone

From April through October, Sunday services start at 11:00 a.m.

Without a regular congregation, the chapel works as a place for tourists and locals to worship. Sometimes you’ll hear solo hymns amidst the acoustics.

Musicians can use the chapel’s sound system and grand piano during services.

GPS Struggles To Find The Hidden Chapel

Many visitors have trouble finding the chapel, even with directions.

Located on Highway 62 West just outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the chapel often doesn’t show up correctly on GPS devices.

Though only a 6-minute drive from downtown Eureka Springs, the hidden setting requires driving through winding Ozark Mountain roads.