April's Theme: Triangles

I'm a little late to the game for this month's theme topic for City Daily Photo, which is "triangles."

This photo was taken during our visit to Salt Lake City back in 2010. The Mormon/Latter Day Saints (LDS) Conference Center, located to the north of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, was completed in April of 2000. The auditorium in the Conference Center seats 21,000. The building is constructed of granite from the same quarry which provided the granite for the Temple. A semi-annual world general conference is held at the headquarters of the LDS Church at Temple Square and includes music by the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the auditorium.

The builders decided that the roof should not be wasted space, and so designed a rooftop garden with pathways that meander throughout trees, native flowers, and other plantings. A guided tour of the center offers an elevator ride to the roof where you'll have a great view of the city and the mountains beyond.  The pyramid shapes are actually atrium windows channeling natural light into the building below.

Conveniently, this post also fits in with Skywatch Friday - and you can see more posts here.

New Year, New Outlook

This little re-purposed silo is a small chapel that's accessible 24/7 at the nearby Fox River UCC.  I think I've posted it before, a long time ago - but it seemed so lovely against the stark, snowy gray day that I had to take another look.

The outside stained glass window is new. Inside it's a bit chilly, but homey. A little stone bench gives one a place to sit and contemplate or pray. There is a mini-alter that even has a velvet padded kneeler for comfort. And of course, the simple wooden cross to remind us of the chapel's purpose. There is a small, red eternal flame lantern that is suspended below a tiny stained glass window in the corner as well.  The scene shows a dove carrying an olive branch, the symbol of peace.

Peace on Google Earth

[For the record, the two images in this post are taken from Google Maps to illustrate a point.]

For Memorial Day I am planning to drive up to where my grandparents are buried in rural western Wisconsin to plant flowers around their graves - just as my mother always did. While reviewing Google Maps for directions, I noticed an interesting oddity.  The map above shows the general area of where the church is located (B), in Vernon County, which is about 25 miles southeast of La Crosse.  But as I zoomed in closer to follow the exact route to take, I noticed this:

A peace sign is etched into the grassy field just to the right of the church cemetery!

Certain pockets of rural Vernon County used to be frequented by the hippies of the 60s and 70s, and so this could be a throw-back to those days. But now there is a growing and respectable progressive culture, with a very active co-op scene in Viroqua and the excellent Westby Creamery. In any event, this certainly seems like a "wink-and-a-nod" from someone, since it is obviously meant to be seen from the sky.

Constantine & Helen

The City of Wauwatosa is sometimes called the "City of Churches" because there are over a dozen within the old village area alone.  Set amidst a pleasant neighborhood of stately vintage homes, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthadox church stands out as a divergent bit of architecture.

Giant Jesus

On the open road between Cottonwood and Sedona, Arizona, stands this larger than life statue of Jesus. It's visible for a few miles down the road, and we couldn't figure out what it was until we came upon it standing near a christian church in the middle of nowhere. A little disconcerting, but still, I suppose it's nice to have someone (literally!) watching over us.

Note that he's holding a globe, i.e. "he has the whole world in his hands," as the song goes.

Happy Easter

Sunrise at our Redeemer Lutheran Church, in La Crosse, Wisconsin - where I grew up. Lots of great memories there. It's where I was baptized, went to church, Sunday school, confirmation classes, and of course, every holiday service during the year. It's also where we were married, back in March of 1978. Some sad ones, too - it's where my father's funeral service was held.

As kids, we used to sneak in and run through the church during hot summer days because it was always dark and cool inside. Especially the basement, where they had an old fashioned "pop" machine, with those small curvy Coke bottles that you could pull out for a nickel. We'd play hide-n-seek in the education wing, library, nursery, and meeting hall. Skinny old Pastor Nelson would eventually hear us, find us and scare the beejesus out of us with a long-winded lecture about the sanctity of God's house. :-)

Built in the mid-1960's, this Lannon stone building has rough cut stained glass designs inside each of the front louvers. This was taken while walking past on a recent visit back home.

Because it's Sunday...

This is old St. Mary's Catholic Church - located in the village on Wisconsin Ave., just west of the lake. There is also a small cemetery next to it, and the on-site school is still in use. It was recently replaced by Queen of Apostles (seen here in an earlier post) - but it still has a beautiful, old-fashioned appeal.

From Trash to Treasure

On the grounds of the Fox River church (see my 2/25/09 entry) there is an old cement/stone silo. It was part of the farmstead that used to be there years ago, but the church has recycled it as a small prayer sanctuary. The sign says: "Silo Prayer Chapel - Welcome."

Soul Food

This enticing sign is in front of the Fox River Congregational Church located on Capitol Drive. Before leaving "the little church in the woods," you'll see the sign below at the end of the driveway.

Bell Tower

In keeping with the theme of my previous post, this is an evening view of the Queen of Apostles Catholic church. The updated church was built on Capitol Drive, a major 4-lane highway that runs through the city, but the original school is still located over by the lake.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Pewaukee is home to a diverse population and, as such, has a variety of places to worship. One of the most striking examples is the new Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Wisconsin, which has a beautiful cream colored dome with subtle ornate accents. If you look closely at the larger version of this photo, you can see the moon rising over the right section of the building.