Chapel of the Transfiguration

Chapel of the Transfiguration
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city:	Moose, Wyoming
Coordinates:	43°39′36.4″N 110°42′55.2″W / 43.660111°N 110.715333°W / 43.660111; -110.715333Coordinates: 43°39′36.4″N 110°42′55.2″W / 43.660111°N 110.715333°W / 43.660111; -110.715333
Built:	1925
Architect:	C.B. Loomis
Architectural style:	Bungalow/Craftsman, Other
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	80004055
Added to NRHP:	April 10, 1980[1]

The Chapel of the Transfiguration is a small log chapel in Grand Teton National Park, in the community of Moose. The chapel was sited and built to frame a view of the Cathedral Group of peaks in a large window behind the altar. The chapel, which was built in 1925, is owned and operated by St. John's Episcopal Church in Jackson.^[2][3]

Description

The chapel complex is composed of the chapel itself, an entrance canopy that incorporates a small bell tower, and a storage shed. The chapel and accessory buildings were designed by C.B. Loomis in a rustic style, also called Western Craftsman. The entrance canopy aligns the approach on the desired axis to the Cathedral Group and provides shelter to the chain-operated bell.^[4] Access to the chapel is by boardwalk, leading to a beveled plank door with decorative ironwork. The 22-foot (6.7 m) by 50-foot (15 m) T-shaped chapel has exposed log interior walls with stained glass windows on either side.^[5] Behind the altar on the chapel's axis, a picture window that would be anachronistic in another setting frames a spectacular view that substitutes for a stained glass composition. A sacristy stands to one side.^[6]

History

The chapel was built to serve guests and employees of the dude ranches that stretched north of Jackson along the base of the Teton Range. The land was donated by Maud Noble, owner of nearby Menor's Ferry, predating the establishment of Grand Teton National Park in 1929 and its expansion into the Moose area in 1950. The design was based on Our Father's House in Ethete on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Construction materials, labor and funds were provided by local ranchers.^[6] It played a primary role in the movie "Spencer’s Mountain", which was filmed in Jackson Hole in 1963, and featured Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara.

The chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1980^[1] The somewhat larger Chapel of the Sacred Heart was built in the park in similar rustic style near Signal Mountain by the Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church of Jackson in 1958.^[7][5]

See also

• Historical buildings and structures of Grand Teton National Park

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ "Chapel of the Transfiguration". National Register of Historic Places. Wyoming State Preservation Office. 2008-08-12. http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID. 
3. ^ "Worship". The Episcopal Church of Jackson Hole. http://www.stjohnsjackson.org/worship.cfm. Retrieved 21 April 2011. 
4. ^ Kaiser, Harvey (1997). "Landmarks in the Landscape", San Francisco: Chronicle Books ISBN 0-8118-1854-3, p. 160
5. ^ ^{a b} Kaiser, Harvey H. (2008). Sourcebook of National Park System Architecture. Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 251. ISBN 978-1-56898-742-2. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Fraser, Clayton (February 25, 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Chapel of the Transfiguration" (PDF). National Park Service. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/80004055.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-26. 
7. ^ "Wedding Permits". Grand Teton National Park. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/weddings.htm. 

External links

• Chapel of the Transfiguration at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office