By Jill Lowe
Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.
Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.
Gee, I really love you and we’re, gonna get married.
Goin’ to the chapel of love.
“Chapel of Love” is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964
The Mildred Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista, Arkansas, built 1989, designed by E.Fay Jones (1921-2004)
Driving through the leafy Ozarks in Arkansas it is easy to visit three breathtaking glass chapels within an hour of each other, designed by masterpiece architects E. Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings.
Thorncrown Chapel and Mildred Cooper Chapel were designed by E. Fay Jones with the Anthony Chapel being designed by Maurice Jennings.
E. Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings were both notable architects, but E. Fay Jones was world renowned for his work on Thorncrown Chapel and his mentorship by Frank Lloyd Wright. Maurice Jennings was a prominent architect who worked closely with Jones.
Inside Mildred Cooper Memorial Chapel
All three glass chapels feature floor to ceiling glass windows providing panoramic views of surrounding scenery. The isolated settings evoke the serene and the picturesque, conjuring a delighted feeling of surprise in encountering the glass, steel and wooden contemporary structures, in the setting of the tall Ozark forest trees.
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Here above, viewed in side by side photographs are the two chapels designed by E.Fay Jones, with The Mildred Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista on the left, and Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs on the right. Of course there are similarities but when viewed this way one can observe the differences, especially the round window in the Mildred Cooper Chapel.
Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs Aarkansas, completed 1980 designed by E. Fay Jones, being inspired by Sainte Chappelle in Paris. Fay Jones affectionately labeled Thorncrow’s style as “Ozark Gothic”
Inside Thorncrown Chapel |
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Just look at the view when surrounded by snow and lit from inside. Photo – Randall Connaughton from Thorncrown Chapel brochure |
Interior of Thorncrown chapel. With all the glass there is a blurring of outside and in.
The interior of the Anthony Chapel, completed 2006, designed by Maurice Jennings on the shores of Lake Hamilton in the beautiful Garvan Woodland Gardens of Hot Springs Arkansas. Photo from Chapel website.
A short drive deep in the Ozarks will be the way to the
Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Founded by the only daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges is a public non-profit charitable organization. The fabulous, impactful museum opened on November 11, 2011, and welcomes all with free admission. And we cannot forget that Bentonville is the global headquarters for Walmart.
Crystal Bridges takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building, designed by world-renowned Canadian architect Moishe Safdie. A series of pavilions are nestled around two spring-fed ponds and house galleries.
The Museum invites us to look at one of Montrealer Moishe Safdie’s early sketches with the realisation of the building below.
The 21C museum Hotel Bentonville is absolutely ideal for visiting Crystal bridges, it being across the road. Everything one needs and nothing you dont. This hotel fits the bill. More later on the hotel restaurant THE HIVE.
Crystal bridges Museum is extremely large and if only limited time, choices must be made. Audio tours are available for many aspects including the architecture of the museum, the sculptures, the enormous collection of American art. The grounds house the Frank Lloyd Wright Backman House and the impactful James Turrel installation “The Way of Color” Some visitors go for known works by Georgia O’Keefe and Norman Rockwell. Here follows some samples of a visit.
Just follow the path to the Museum entrance, past contemporary residential architecture
On the path to the museum entrance on The Art Trail is James Turrell’s installation The Way of Color.
This structure with its circular opening in the roof invites us to experience the relationships of light, space and nature. Some minutes before sunrise and after sunset, a computer programmed LED display produces a sequence of colors allowing the viewer inside the installation to celebrate the process of night becoming day and so on.
James Turrell is condidered “The master of light” with installations across the world, most notably in Japan’s art island Naoshima as well as Ireland, Australia and of course USA.
Art critic John McDonald writes that Turrell’s works are “dull to describe but magical to experience”.
How true!
Prior to sunrise we had the space to ourselves (no queue) for the show to begin.
Over the time of 45 mins before sunrise the light changed as the LED display continued. Enchanting.
Some sculptures and installations on the art trail follow here
The aluminum “tree” sculpted by Roxy Paine is at the entrance to the Museum
Yayoi Kusama installation in the pond
Yayoi Kusama “Flowers that Bloom” |
“Maman” by Stephen Ironside
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Situated in 1954 in New Jersey, Crystal Bridges acquired this Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in 2013. The entire structure was taken apart and and loaded into two trucks for transportation to the Museum. After its 1,235 mile journey, the Bachman-Wilson House arrived in Northwest Arkansas in April, 2014.
“Three People on Four Benches” George Segal 1979
OOOPS : I see four people on four benches!
The museum collection is simply enormous so here follows only some examples of what is offered at this extraordinary art collection.
The beautiful restaurant in the Crystal bridges Museum
The bar at The Hive – the restaurant at 21c Museum Hotel
What a superb menu with imaginative seasonally inspired local ingredients showcasing the unique culinary identity of Arkansas. Examples are baked ricotta with fig jam or juicy melon wrapped in cured lardo drizzled with chili oil and topped with basil.
Further such pairings as tomatoes and peached with yarrow vinaigrette had us reaching for the dictionary.
Now we also knownow that nixtamalisation (hitherto not known by me) is normally associated with corn or grain and can be applied to tomatoes as in thier menu.. In some manner the items are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution. A superb menu.
And for dessert: complimentary apple cotton candy!
One can see much in 24 hours at Crystal Bridges Museum but suffice it to say longer leisurely visits in different seasons allow for even more experiences.
Even a short visit is magical.
Notes
Photo of Jill by Joe Mazza, Bravelux inc.
Photos copyright © 2025 Jill Lowe. All rights reserved
Images from Shutterstock license
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
