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USAFA's Iconic Cadet Chapel
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The Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel soars 150 feet into the thin Colorado air. Its 17 spires evoke the mountains that form its backdrop, jets flying in formation, and raised sabres. ----more----
After winning a spirited national competition to earn the right to design the Air Force Academy, the Chicago-based firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill put 34-year-old architect Walter Netsch in charge of the Chapel’s design. The strikingly modern Cadet Chapel became his most famous creation. It has received several architectural awards and appeared in countless magazines that extolled its beauty. Today, its beauty is unquestioned, but the design originally raised many questions and caused a lot of controversy. Influential people in the late 1950s, including members of Congress, did not like it. Critics of that time called the Chapel design “a shocking fiasco,” “an accordion,” and said that attending services there would be like worshipping in “a skating rink.” While Congress briefly delayed funding, Netsch and company prevailed. The Chapel was built by the Robert E. McKee Construction Company of Santa Fe, New Mexico, between 1959 and 1963. The cost to build the Chapel was $3.5 million for the structure, while the furnishings, organs and other interior items were funded through private donation. On Easter 1959, an offering was taken on Air Force bases throughout the world to help finance the completion of the interior. The Chapel was dedicated on September 22, 1963. Since then, the aluminum, glass and steel structure has become the top man-made tourist attraction in the state of Colorado.
Beginning in 2019 and continuing for several years, the Academy’s most visible building will be closed for renovations and upgrades. Construction will take it back to the steel skeleton, a look well-known from early 1960s photographs. Once completed, the renovations will seal the Chapel structure, which has leaked since its inception.
The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Airforce Academy Association and Foundation
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