Roofless Church
{{Short description|Open air interdenominational church in Indiana, USA}}
File:Roofless church by Philip Johnson, New Harmony, Indiana LCCN2010630152.tif
The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana, is an open air interdenominational church designed by Philip Johnson and dedicated in 1960.{{cite web |title=Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation Properties |url=http://robertleeblafferfoundation.org/robert-lee-blaffer-foundation-properties/ |website=Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation |access-date=26 February 2019}} The church was commissioned by Jane Blaffer Owen, the wife of a descendant of Robert Owen (the founder of New Harmony).{{cite web |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/186137/roofless-church-new-harmony-indiana |title=Roofless Church, New Harmony, Indiana |last=Sternfeld |first=Joel |website=Art Institute Chicago |access-date=26 February 2019 }} It is an open park surrounded by a wall. There is one roof-like structure inside the compound, which is a cover for the statue The descent of the Holy Spirit by Jacques Lipchitz.{{cite web |title=The Roofless Church |url=https://visitnewharmony.com/playexplore_cpt/the-roofless-church-2/ |website=VisitNewHarmony.com |access-date=26 February 2019}}
Features
The walls of the church are made of brick, and form a 9,800 square ft. rectangle, which is paved with limestone except for areas designated for plants. A gilded and adorned gate (also done by Lipchitz) is on the east side, with a secondary gate in the west wall.{{cite book |last=Welch |first=Frank D. |date=2000 |title=Philip Johnson and Texas |publisher=University of Texas Press |page=71 |isbn=0292791348 }} The roof-like structure over Lipchitz's sculpture is a shingled baldachin which, as noted by the New Harmony chronicler Don Blair, resembles an upside-down rose bud.{{cite book |last=Schulze |first=Franz |date=1996 |title=Philip Johnson: Life and Work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAe2qWReLhAC |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=282 |isbn=0226740587 }} Since the original dedication of the church, further sculptures have been added inside the walls.{{cite web |url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IN-01-129-0091 |title=Roofless Church |last=Higgins |first=S. Alan |editor-last=Esperdy |editor-first=Gabrielle |editor2-last=Kingsley |editor2-first=Karen |date=2012 |website=Society of Architectural Historians |publisher=University of Virginia Press |access-date=26 February 2019 }}
In 2016, a restoration effort was assembled, and the gate ornaments were re-gilded with gold leaf.{{cite news |date=25 October 2016 |title=The Roofless Church restoration |url=http://www.14news.com/story/33480872/the-roofless-church-restoration/ |work=WFIE |location=Evansville, IN |access-date=26 February 2019}}
References
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Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1960
Category:Buildings and structures in Indiana
Category:Philip Johnson buildings
Category:Churches completed in 1960
Category:20th-century churches in the United States