I present to you the St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Chicago.

All images below by sjgardiner of Flickr.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/...22169641ab.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/...be73fbd694.jpg

The crystal cathedral ain't part of the catholic church. it's part of the Reformed Church in America, a mainline protestant denomination with about 256,000 adherents.

I fall into exactly this same category...

...which is why when I had the opportunity to get married in a 500 year old church in Italy (despite the fact that I'm not catholic), I jumped at the chance. Various members of my wife's family worked on different portions of the church over many generations.

Chiesa di San Gennaro (1589-1602) Praiano, Italy:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...26ITALY420.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...26ITALY510.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6ITALY1076.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6ITALY1723.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6ITALY1734.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6ITALY1728.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6ITALY1730.jpg

It's not a Catholic church.

then it probably consumes the ENTIRE budged of the christian congregation that built it, for cooling.

So bad it's badass.

Gotta bring some modern classics into the thread. Even Le Corbusier's haters will probably like his Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut (a.k.a. "Ronchamp"):

http://troubleinxanadu.com/wp-conten.../Ronchamp1.jpg
source

http://ecovidainternational.com/wp-c...Corbusier_.jpg
source

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/...a0eb758ed6.jpg
source

Eero Sarineen's MIT Chapel, dedicated in 1955:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2048/...731c5a5a_z.jpg
source

http://tinamatt.com/Pics/chapel.jpg
source

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3542/...85b8c0bd28.jpg
source

yes! ;)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/...bb6ae312_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38712171@N07/4591103117/

Did you read the post about it costing nothing to cool that space as there is no air conditioning because there is no need thanks to the design?

Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki. Carved out of the rock...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/...27d938e3_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/...d483390e_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/...5a6817d9_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/...dc025506_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpwchi/

I don't know the official name of this church (I've seen several), but I'll go with Donau City Church, the Heinz Tesar designed church in Vienna...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/...a96a4cbf_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/...c99bcfd1_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauren_pressley/

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/...4e8c103f_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/...883f9147_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/russianchild007/

I'm surprised three pages in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin hasn't been mentioned. It's literally been through hell and back.

http://www.earthinpictures.com/world...ial_church.jpg
source

http://www.monthofsaturdays.net/diar...ial_Church.jpg
source

but then again so has Cologne Cathedral (or Kölner Dom in Deutsch)
http://www.rathburn.net/hol/Germany/...l%20Facade.jpg
source

Fantastic selection!

SD_Phil, I love that badass scale.

Oops! I was posting late - that's my only excuse ;)

I think we can now assemble some of the elements of ecclesiastical badassery:

1. Outrageously unusual form Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (the one that started this whole conversation) Colorado Springs Precious Blood, Winnipeg Mole Antonelliana St Mary's Tokyo Unity Temple Stave Churches Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut

2. Spires as sharp as needles Liverpool LDS Temple, San Diego Sweetest Heart of Mary St Louis Cathedral Oakland California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Mormon temples in Portland and Las Vegas St Patrick's, New York

3. Flagrantly minimalist fenestration MIT Chapel Church of the Light Donau City Church

4. Flagrant maximisation of fenestration Brasilia Sainte-Chapelle Crystal Cathedral

5. Overwhelming mass/soarSt Josaphat Hagia Sophia Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta St Louis Cathedral

6. Insane location Las Lajas Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki

7. Outrageously creative lighting Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, CA Madonna Della Strada Chapel MIT Chapel Church of the Light

8. Overwhelming, arresting and/or macabre decoration sedlec ossuary Sagrada Família St Peter's, Chicago São Francisco Ordem Terceira Church National Cathedral (Darth) St George Cathedral, Limburg The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg St Joseph, Chicago Chiesa di San Gennaro

9. Link to badass historical figure St Basil's

10. Ivy, to a ridiculous extent. "Hairy Church"

11. Badass colour/texture 19th Street Baptist Church

12. Any church whose name contains the word 'blood' The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg Precious Blood, Winnipeg

13. Waterfalls LDS (Mormon) Conference Center

14. Battle scared and mean-looking Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

13. Bruce Goff funk-tacularity St. John Brebuef Church in Niles, IL

14. Gas station in crypt :rock:

Seeing this reminded me of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. Of course the locals refer to it as St. Mary's. It was completed in 1971, the cornerstone having been laid in 1967. Some people have likened its shape to a bishop's miter, while others refer to it as the big blender or big food processor. I think the interior is more interesting than the exterior. You have to really be inside of it to get the scale.

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/654811.jpg
panoramio.com Kojak

http://www.dchamberlinarchitect.com/...%20sf-2006.jpg
dchamberlinarchitect.com

http://aedesign.files.wordpress.com/...arys-inner.jpg
aedesignwordpress.com

http://knstrct.com/wp-content/upload...ST-MARYS-2.jpg
knstrct.com

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/6...yuphotogra.jpg
pbase.com David Yu, photographer

I can see why someone might mistake the Crystal Cathedral for being a Catholic church by the name. In Catholic terminology, a cathedral is the main/home base church of a diocese or archdiocese, the church the bishop or archbishop calls "home." I think many Americans (being that most Americans are Protestant of course) think of a cathedral as being any large church structure, often in the Gothic style.

Incidentally, a Catholic church or cathedral can be in any architectural style, you'll just see Catholic elements within it, like candles, kneelers, maybe some side chapels, religious art, etc. You see none of that in the interior of the Crystal Cathedral.

I don't know if it's the case but it seems to me that other Christian sects'/denominations' church buildings must adhere to a certain style, like Eastern Orthodox churches seem to all have the same look and proportions, as do Mormon churches and Armenian Apostolic churches.

I didn't know that the Crystal Cathedral was a mainline Protestant church. I always assumed it was started by a televangelist.

First Presbyterian Church of Stamford
The Fish Church
Stamford, CT
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/...9b1a5d9fc4.jpg
First Presbyterian Church by eveninct, on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/...cab930cf47.jpg
First Presbyterian Church by eveninct, on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3613/...9be06f8096.jpg
First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary by eveninct, on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/...43399511bb.jpg
Untitled by eveninct, on Flickr

and its 260 ft. Carillon Tower:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/...11d609a8c3.jpg
Maguire Memorial Tower by eveninct, on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1416/...594f175bde.jpg
First Presbyterian Church of Stamford by Jeff Woelker, on Flickr

Sweeney Chapel, Christian Theological Seminary
Indianapolis, Indiana
Architect: Edward Larrabee Barnes

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/...451608b5f9.jpg
Christian Theological Seminary by ebachta, on Flickr

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2463/...5664635af8.jpg
Christian Theological Seminary by ebachta, on Flickr

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/...ac75381704.jpg
Christian Theological Seminary by ebachta, on Flickr

Beth Shalom Synagogue
Elkins Park, PA
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/...89ffc67d51.jpg
Beth Shalom Synagogue by dovetaildw, on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/...f18033152f.jpg
Beth Sholom Congregation - Frank Lloyd Wright by panda on the loose, on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/...b4939b769f.jpg
Untitled by Bessandra, on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1208/...ca041a3403.jpg
Beth Shalom by i hug buildings, on Flickr

I don't think I've seen Thorncrown Chapel posted here yet:

http://archrecord.construction.com/f...es/06_25yr.jpg

http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/...horncrown2.jpg

I drive through NW Arkansas on a road trip last year and want to kick myself for not having stopped to see it in person. It's in Eureka Springs, AR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorncrown_Chapel

You beat me to it by about 2 minutes..... haha