Aluminum, Steel, and Faith Combine in This Air Force Chapel That Welcomes All Beliefs

Air Force Academy Chapel

In Colorado Springs, between Pike’s Peak and the Front Range, 17 spires of steel and glass slice into the Rocky Mountain sky. The Air Force Academy Chapel isn’t just a church. It’s modern art, smart engineering, and a place where cadets of all faiths come to pray. Here’s the full story of America’s most innovative military chapel.

Old Churches Shape Modern Jet Spires

Walter Netsch got ideas from grand old churches like Sainte-Chapelle in France and the Basilica of San Francesco in Italy when drawing the chapel plans. His vision took the old idea of stacked prayer rooms and made it new for today’s military. Netsch used a 7-foot grid pattern across the campus based on Japanese floor mats he had seen.

Happy Accident Created the Iconic Tetrahedron Spires

Walter Netsch found the pointed shape that makes the chapel special by pure luck.

While drawing ideas, an engineer looked at his work and asked, “What are you doing? Trying to draw a tetrahedron?” Netsch had no clue what that word meant at the time.

He went home that night to look up this shape that would become his greatest work. Chapel walls reach 150 feet high, stretch 280 feet long, and span 84 feet wide.

Building teams put together 100 matching three-sided shapes, each 75 feet long and as heavy as two cars, to make the striking roof. Workers made these huge triangular pieces in Missouri factories.

Trains carried these giant parts to the Colorado building site. Wood from American walnut and African mahogany trees adds warmth inside the metal outer shell, creating a bridge between heaven and earth.

Jet-Like Towers Point Skyward

Most eye-catching are the 17 metal spires that look just like fighter jets aimed at the sky. This link between air combat and prayer makes a strong first impression on everyone who visits.

Bench ends throughout the chapel look like old World War I plane propellers. Metal strips along the back of each bench remind you of aircraft wings. Special fixes handle 8-inch movement during strong Colorado winds without damage.

Flight themes appear in all prayer rooms, subtly reminding cadets of their flying heritage.

Blue-to-Clear Glass Tells Faith Story

Looking up, you’ll see 24,000 square feet of bright stained glass. Foot-wide spaces between roof triangles create perfect gaps for these vivid windows.

Colors shift from dark blue at the door to clear glass at the altar. This planned color change stands for the path from earth to heaven. Over 60,000 separate colored glass pieces form abstract patterns along the walls.

The Protestant Chapel

After entering, you’ll find the main Protestant chapel takes up the top floor with room for 1,200 people. Its tall 92-foot ceiling space measures 64 by 168 feet, making you feel small like standing in an aircraft hangar.

Glass panels shift from dark to light as your eyes move toward the altar. Benches made from walnut and mahogany wood carved like plane propellers fill this massive room.

Hanging 46 feet high, a giant metal cross draws your eyes upward as the main focus. Behind the altar, a curved wall with Colorado gems and Italian marble anchors the space.

Music comes from a huge pipe organ with 83 groups and 4,334 pipes built by Walter Holtkamp.

The Catholic Chapel

Just below the main level, Catholic services happen in a more snug room holding 500 people. At 56 feet wide, 113 feet long, and 19 feet high, this space feels more personal than the giant room above.

Looking forward, a beautiful glass mosaic mural made by Lumen Martin Winter catches your eye. Two big 10-foot marble statues showing Mary and Angel Gabriel stand guard by the altar.

Along the walls, fourteen Stations of the Cross cut from the same Carrara marble Michelangelo used for his famous works tell the Easter story. Cardinal Francis Spellman blessed this space on September 22, 1963, making it official.

Another special pipe organ with 36 groups and 1,950 pipes also designed by Walter Holtkamp provides music here.

The Jewish Chapel

Moving to another part of the building, you’ll discover the Jewish chapel with its round shape spanning 42 feet across and rising 19 feet high, feeling much like a desert tent. Floor stones from Jerusalem donated by Israeli soldiers connect worshippers to Israel.

Purple glass windows mix with green and blue accents around the circle. See-through glass panels separated by Israeli cypress wood posts create a warm, natural feeling.

Bible story paintings by Shlomo Katz finished in 1985-1986 cover the walls. These pictures show three main ideas: brotherhood, flight, and justice.

At the front, the Aron Kodesh cabinet holding the Torah scrolls serves as the main focus.

Many Faiths Find Home Under One Roof

Besides the main prayer rooms, a small Buddhist shrine added in 2007 welcomes Buddhist cadets. Outside, the Falcon Circle, built in 2011, gives space for nature-centered faith practices.

Plain rooms without religious symbols can be set up for any faith group as needed. Muslim prayer space came later as more Muslim cadets joined the Academy.

Each faith keeps its own unique space while sharing the same building with others. No other military building tried this bold approach to housing many religions when it was built.

Smart design lets services happen in all rooms at the same time without noise problems. Sound barriers between spaces ensure peaceful worship for all faith groups at once.

Organ Music Fills All Worship Spaces

Within these sacred walls, you’ll hear the Protestant chapel’s massive pipe organ with its 83 sets and 4,334 pipes built by Walter Holtkamp. Both regular services and special concerts showcase this amazing instrument.

Famous musicians have played shows on both chapel organs over the years. Regular concert series let visitors hear these instruments outside normal worship times.

Academy Life Centers Around Chapel

Beyond just worship, the chapel works as the heart of spiritual life for all Academy cadets. Special Programs in Religious Education runs the biggest faith program anywhere in the Air Force.

Student groups from different religions work together through the Cadet Inter-Religious Council. Chaplains help cadet groups with advice and support across campus.

Big life events like graduations, weddings, and memorial services happen here regularly. When cadets face tough training, they often find comfort within these unusual walls.

Famous Builders Hated This Design

Despite its iconic status today, Frank Lloyd Wright once harshly called the chapel a “glass box on stilts.” Congressman John Fogarty claimed it wasn’t “American enough and unworthy of our traditions.”

Air Force leaders stood by their modern design despite many critics who wanted something more traditional.

Years later in 2004, the chapel became a National Historic Landmark as part of the Cadet Area.

Money Cuts Create Sixty Years of Leaks

Hidden problems began when Netsch planned a smart rain gutter system under the metal panels. Money got tight, so workers replaced these gutters with 32 miles of caulk between panels.

This one bad choice led to leaks and water damage from day one. Fix-it crews have been adding new caulk for over 60 years without solving the problem.

Hard to believe, but 32 miles of caulk run through the building like veins in a body. Year after year, slow damage hurt the building’s frame, glass windows, benches, and organs.

By 2019, officials almost tore it down when they found it would cost less to rebuild than fix all the problems. Only the chapel’s fame and history saved it from the wrecking ball.

Under Renovation

Looking at the chapel today, you’d see a massive $240 million repair job that’s stripping it to bare bones. Workers found over one million cubic feet of cancer-causing asbestos inside the walls.

This has become the biggest asbestos removal project in Colorado history. A strange 14-story plastic “cocoon” now completely covers the chapel during the work.

Teams must take the chapel apart down to its steel bones to put in the original gutter system. Testing crews use real airplane engines to check if the new waterproofing can stand up to jet blast.

Workers catalog and fix every single piece of metal and stained glass with loving care. When you visit after 2027, you’ll see the finished product after years of delays and problems.

See It Despite Construction Work

Right now, you can view the chapel from marked spots on campus while work continues. Visit the Air Force Academy Visitor Center to see detailed displays about the chapel’s history and design.

Renovation continues through 2027, so plan accordingly. Academy staff post regular updates online about progress.

• Find it at: 2304 Cadet Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840
• Visitor Center open: 9am-5pm every day
• Cost: Free (bring valid ID)

Read More from This Brand:

• Colorado’s 12 Most Stunning State Parks That’ll Make Your Jaw Drop
• Why Capitol Peak Earned Its Reputation as the Most Lethal 14er in Colorado
• Private: This Free-to-Visit Park Might Be One of the Most Magical Places in Colorado