be broken down and loaded
onto ten additional trucks
in order to be permitted on
California highways.
The exterior architecture of
these buildings is surprisingly
plain, especially that of the
chapel, which might be
described as beautifully
severe. Faced in rustic
stone, with a single small
arched aperture above the
massive wooden door, it
has a simple, slightly peaked
red tile roof, surmounted
by a small white cross. It
is strangely reminiscent in
aspect of 17th and 18th
century Spanish mission
churches native to California;
the structure appears always
to have been here. Inside
are exposed massive roof-
beams and simple wooden
pews, the altar of elemental
stone; above it hangs a
wrought iron chandelier.
This interior, plain as it is, is
suffused with a natural light
that can only be described as
celestial, a place to worship
the sun, among other deities.
Steichen's use of detail
...the
realization
of both the
couple's
Francophile
dreams and
her own ...
HYLAND
