{"id":1896,"date":"2024-06-18T17:16:36","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T21:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/?p=1896"},"modified":"2024-06-18T17:16:36","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T21:16:36","slug":"usaf-academy-cadet-chapel-is-still-grounded-by-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/feettofaith\/2024\/06\/usaf-academy-cadet-chapel-is-still-grounded-by-renovations\/","title":{"rendered":"USAF Academy Cadet Chapel Is Still Grounded By Renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 17 spires of the Cadet Chapel point skyward [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Look, soaring up towards the sky! Visitors to the US Air Force Academy won\u2019t see Superman, and they won\u2019t see the stunning spires of the famed Cadet Chapel either. Instead, they\u2019ll view an enormous box. Sadly, renovations and repairs started almost five years ago on the chapel are still ongoing. And the work underway requires the innovative structure be completely covered. Yes, the Cadet Chapel is still grounded by renovations.\n

Popular and Award-Winning Attraction<\/strong><\/h3>\n Undoubtedly the most recognizable building at the service academy, the Cadet Chapel draws numerous tourists to view this magnificent work of architecture. If fact, prior to its closure for renovations in 2019<\/a>, the structure was the most visited man-made tourist attraction in Colorado<\/a>, drawing 500,000 to a million<\/a> visitors annually.<\/p>\n A highly regarded example of modernist architecture, the Cadet Chapel received the coveted American Institute of Architects\u2019 national Twenty-Five Year Award in 1966<\/a>. Then, in 2004, as part of the Cadet Area, the accordion-like building<\/a> was designated a US National Historic Landmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Mountains rise behind the Cadet Area, towering over the spires of the Cadet Chapel [Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons}<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Chapel\u2019s Location<\/strong><\/h3>\n**** The Cadet Chapel couldn\u2019t ask for a more beautiful location. Set on the 18,445-acre<\/a> campus of the US Air Force Academy just north of Colorado Springs, the building has the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. Even with the mountains rising in the distance, the cadets, and the chapel which serves them, sit at an altitude of 7,258 feet above sea<\/a> level.<\/p>\n A large, square pavilion known as the Terrazzo offers the setting for the main buildings in the Academy\u2019s Cadet Area. There, near where the cadets eat, sleep, and study, sits the Cadet Chapel<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Cadet Chapel and mountains provide a scenic background for marching [Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Chapel\u2019s Origin<\/strong><\/h3>\n Calls for an Air Force Academy came after the National Security Act of 1947 authorized the establishment<\/a> of a separate military branch for the air force. Designs for this service academy\u2019s chapel were drawn in the 1950s<\/a>. \u00a0The architectural firm tasked with this project produced an aluminum-skinned chapel \u201cpointing straight up to the sky<\/a> and the heavens beyond it.\u201d<\/p>\n Although initially controversial<\/a>, the plans gained approval, garnering critical acclaim over the years. The original design called for twenty-one spires to soar 150 feet into the air. Due to budget constraints, the number was reduced to seventeen. Twenty-one was a nod to the twenty-one-gun salute according to our tour guide at the Academy. The significance of seventeen? He jokingly indicated that was the number of Jesus\u2019 disciples plus the five Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n The price tag for the construction of the chapel and surrounding grounds came to $3.5 million<\/a>. Gifts from individuals and various organizations provided items needed for the interior, including pipe organs and furnishings.<\/p>\n The mountains and Cadet Chapel rise behind cadet formations [Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nChapel Layout<\/strong><\/h3>\n**** The 150\u2019 high, 280\u2019 long,<\/a> aluminum, steel, and glass Cadet Chapel provides a center of worship for all faiths. This design is unusual for religious buildings<\/a> because, as a non-denominational facility, it offers worship venues for several religious beliefs.<\/p>\n Specifically, the chapel contains Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist<\/a> chapels as well as an all-faith room. Each of these spaces has its own separate entrance<\/a>, and services can be held in all rooms simultaneously. The Protestant worship area occupies the level above the other chapels with seating for 1,200<\/a>.<\/p>\n Need For Renovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n Constructions shortcomings<\/a> contributed to the chapel\u2019s deterioration with the biggest concern being water infiltration. \u00a0Water damage to the Cadet Chapel from chronic leakage ultimately led to the building\u2019s closure in September 2019 for a $158 million<\/a> renovation and restoration project.<\/p>\n Initially slated to be finished by November 2022<\/a>,\u00a0the work continues. Discovery of more asbestos than anticipated<\/a> pushed back the completion date to 2027.\u00a0Additionally, the extent of asbestos found during the work caused the project\u2019s cost to increase by $60 million<\/a> for mitigation. The amount of asbestos found in the chapel is mind-boggling. According to the current academy architect, more than one million cubic feet of asbestos has been removed, making this the \u201clargest asbestos abatement project<\/a> in the history of Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n Out Of Sight<\/strong><\/h3>\n While the renovation project continues, a covering hides the chapel from view. An enormous white cocoon or hangar<\/a> obscures the chapel from view but allows the project to continue despite bad weathe<\/a>r in the mountainous area.\u00a0Cadets refer to the covering as \u201cThe Box.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0While tourists cannot see the chapel itself during the renovation, they can take in the biggest box they\u2019ve probably ever seen, one fourteen stories<\/a> tall.<\/p>\n ************ * The Cadet Chapel is still grounded by renovations and covered by \u201cThe Box\u201d [Picture by Alice H. Murray]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe End?<\/strong><\/h3>\n*** ** The Cadet Chapel is still grounded by renovations. Tourists and cadets alike will rejoice when the stunning Cadet Chapel is finally unboxed and no longer grounded. Until then, all must imagine the seventeen spires pointing up into the wild blue yonder. A renovated chapel is a work in progress just like the cadets it serves.<\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** ************\u00a0 Look, soaring up towards the sky! Visitors to the US Air Force Academy won\u2019t see Superman, and they won\u2019t see the stunning spires of the famed Cadet Chapel either. Instead, they\u2019ll view an enormous box. Sadly, renovations and repairs started almost five years ago on the chapel are still ongoing. And the work underway […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5354,"featured_media":1905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[452,398,573,446],"tags":[461,579,582,576,585],"class_list":["post-1896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-education","category-military","category-worship","tag-architecture","tag-cadet-chapel","tag-renovations","tag-usaf","tag-usaf-academy"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Cadet Chapel is still grounded by renovations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Work on the USAFA Cadet Chapel continue, requiring the structure be completely covered. 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