{"id":142271,"date":"2025-08-13T11:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142271\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T11:40:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:40:21","slug":"15-must-visit-sacred-buildings-in-and-around-dallas-plus-a-bonus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142271\/","title":{"rendered":"15 must-visit sacred buildings in and around Dallas (plus a bonus)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas isn\u2019t known for an adventurous taste in architecture<\/a>; it has always been a business-oriented place that prizes the conventional. An exception is its religious architecture, which stands out all the more for the city\u2019s more prosaic building tradition. From its earliest days to the present, congregations of all faiths have looked to architecture for visual transcendence.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here are 15 of the region\u2019s most interesting, innovative, beautiful and quirky works of sacred architecture. (Read on for a bonus, as well.)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Guadalupe Cathedral in the Dallas Arts District.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

Guadalupe Cathedral, Nicholas Clayton, architect, 1902.<\/b><\/p>\n

News Roundups<\/p>\n

Catch up on the day’s news you need to know.<\/p>\n

A resplendent Victorian pile that holds its place in the Arts District<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2215 Ross Ave., Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Highland<\/p>\n

Highland Park United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

Ben Torres \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Highland Park United Methodist Church, Mark Lemmon, architect, 1926.<\/b><\/p>\n

Gothic Revival done beautifully on land donated by Southern Methodist University. <\/p>\n

3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Little<\/p>\n

Little Chapel in the Woods, Denton.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

Little Chapel in the Woods, O\u2019Neil Ford, architect, 1939. <\/b><\/p>\n

A charmer on the Denton campus of Texas Woman\u2019s University, an elegant box with dramatic parabolic arches. <\/p>\n

415 Chapel Drive, Denton<\/p>\n

\"Fifth<\/p>\n

Fifth Church, Dallas.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, George Dahl, architect, 1952.<\/b><\/p>\n

An absolutely impeccable work of midcentury design by the city\u2019s most prolific architect. A study in architectural clarity. <\/p>\n

5655 Northwest Highway, Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Temple<\/p>\n

Temple Emanu-El, at 8500 Hillcrest Road in Dallas. (Jan Sonnenmair\/Staff File)<\/p>\n

Temple Emanu-El, Howard Meyer, architect, 1957.<\/b><\/p>\n

A magisterial work of modern design with stained glass by Gyorgy Kepes and an arc by textile artist Anni Albers. The main sanctuary is a mystical space of immense power, with a smaller, secondary sanctuary in a restrained and limpid modernism. A third sanctuary,<\/a> recently designed in Scandinavian style by architect Gary Cunningham, is also a winner. <\/p>\n

8500 Hillcrest Road, Dallas<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

St. Pius X Catholic Church, Dallas.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

St. Pius X Catholic Church, George Dahl & John Barthel, architects, 1959.<\/b><\/p>\n

This singular building could easily have been named the Church of the Holy Protractor given the architects\u2019 delightful obsession with circles and semicircles.<\/p>\n

3030 Gus Thomasson Road, Dallas <\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

Exterior view of St. Stephen United Methodist Church, in Mesquite.<\/p>\n

Charles Davis Smith FAIA \/ Charles Davis Smith – FAIA<\/p>\n

St. Stephen United Methodist Church, Pratt, Box & Henderson, architects, 1962.<\/b><\/p>\n

How did this woozy work of modernism<\/a>, clearly inspired by Le Corbusier\u2019s Chapel of Ronchamp, end up in suburban Mesquite? A progressive congregation begat one of the region\u2019s most progressive structures. <\/p>\n

2520 Oates Drive, Mesquite<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

St. John’s Episcopal Church, O’Neil Ford and Arch Swank, 1963.<\/p>\n

Robert Meckfessel \/ Robert Meckfessel<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church, O\u2019Neil Ford and Arch Swank, 1963. <\/b><\/p>\n

The unique sanctuary ringed by vertical brick cylinders blends tradition and modernity in an unusual (for Dallas) wooded setting. <\/p>\n

848 Harter Road, Dallas<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

First Unitarian Church, in Highland Park.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

First Unitarian Church, Harwell Hamilton Harris, architect, 1964.<\/b><\/p>\n

A white box along Preston Road<\/a> with detailing inspired by Louis Sullivan\u2019s rural bank buildings and Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s textile block houses.<\/p>\n

4015 Normandy Ave., Dallas<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

St. Jude Chapel, Dallas.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

St. Jude Chapel, Eugene Boerder, architect, mosaic by Gyorgy Kepes, 1968.<\/b><\/p>\n

This often overlooked downtown gem is fronted by a resplendent mosaic mural by the Hungarian artist Gyorgy Kepes. Inside it is surprisingly airy. <\/p>\n

1521 Main St., Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Pigeons<\/p>\n

Pigeons find a haven for roost outside architect Philip Johnson’s chapel at Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas. <\/p>\n

Thanks-Giving Square Chapel, Philip Johnson, architect, 1976.<\/b><\/p>\n

Johnson based the design of this bit of architectural whipped-cream<\/a> on the historic minaret of the Mosque of Samarra, in Iraq. Why? Who knows, but the spiral cap makes a pleasing mark on the skyline. <\/p>\n

1627 Pacific Ave., Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Church<\/p>\n

Church of the Incarnation, University of Dallas, Irving.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster \/ Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

Church of the Incarnation, Duane <\/b> and Jane Landry, 1985.<\/b><\/p>\n

A beautifully realized chapel in the modern style on the campus of the University of Dallas, in Irving. <\/p>\n

1845 E. Northgate Drive, Irving<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The outside of the church at the Cistercian abbey at Our Lady of Dallas in Irving. The church was built in 1992 after being designed by a former student of the Cistercian Preparatory School.<\/p>\n

ANDY JACOBSOHN\/Staff Photographe<\/p>\n

Cistercian Abbey Church, Gary <\/b> Cunningham, architect, 1992.<\/b><\/p>\n

A masterpiece of regional modernism built of immense stone blocks. Cunningham describes it as \u201cNeo-Romanesque,\u201d but it is decidedly its own thing. <\/p>\n

3550 Cistercian Road, Irving<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Interfaith Peace Chapel, a modern masterpiece designed by architect Philip Johnson, sits on the property of the Cathedral of Hope.<\/p>\n

Mark Lamster<\/p>\n

Interfaith Peace Chapel, Philip Johnson, architect, 2010.<\/b><\/p>\n

A sweet cloud of a building completed after Johnson\u2019s death for the city\u2019s largest LGBTQ congregation. <\/p>\n

5910 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Apse<\/p>\n

Apse view of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church, Carrollton. <\/p>\n

Dror Baldinger \/ David Hotson Architect<\/p>\n

St. Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church, David Hotson, 2022.<\/b><\/p>\n

Located in suburban Carrollton, an exquisite and deeply moving<\/a> modern reflection on traditional Armenian design. <\/p>\n

4421 Charles St., Carrollton<\/p>\n

BONUS<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Diners<\/p>\n

Diners outside in the patio area at Kalachandji’s vegetarian restaurant on Gurley Avenue in east Dallas, on Aug. 28, 2021. Kalachandji’s is one of Dallas’ last buffets. <\/p>\n

Ben Torres \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Radha Kalachandji Temple (originally, Mount Auburn Christian Church), c. 1940. Remade as the Kalachandji temple in 1981.<\/b><\/p>\n

The courtyard seating is lovely on a warm (but not too warm) day, but the reason to visit this Christian church adapted to a Hare Krishna temple is the legendary Indian buffet<\/a>. Don\u2019t miss the fried potatoes with bitter melon. <\/p>\n

5430 Gurley Ave., Dallas<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/a>What is that?! The most radical church in Texas gets a facelift<\/a><\/p>\n

Mesquite\u2019s St. Stephen United Methodist Church, an icon of organic modernism, is restored to its original grandeur. <\/p>\n

\"(From<\/a>How Merriman Anderson Architects bet on downtown \u2014 and won<\/a><\/p>\n

The firm has completed some of the most notable historic redevelopments in downtown Dallas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas isn\u2019t known for an adventurous taste in architecture; it has always been a business-oriented place that prizes…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":142272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,2513,13441,1596,13431,14052,11212,11412,13381,9732,13412,43549,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-142271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-architecture","10":"tag-carrollton","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-denton","13":"tag-downtown-dallas","14":"tag-east-dallas","15":"tag-faith","16":"tag-highland-park","17":"tag-irving","18":"tag-mesquite","19":"tag-north-dallas","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115021272203991884","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}