Chapel of the Holy Cross — Sedona

Rising from the red rock buttes between two sandstone pinnacles, the Chapel of the Holy Cross is one of the most extraordinary architectural achievements in the American Southwest. Part church, part sculpture, part geological integration — it's a building that seems to grow from the rock itself.

Perched 200 feet above the Chapel Road valley floor, the chapel's 90-foot concrete cross slices into the crimson sky like a blade of faith driven into stone. It has been called one of the “Seven Man-Made Wonders of Arizona,” and each year hundreds of thousands of visitors make the short pilgrimage up the ramp to stand inside its glass-walled sanctuary. But the story behind the chapel is as remarkable as the building itself — a tale of artistic vision, wartime disruption, and an heiress who refused to give up.

The Visionary: Marguerite Brunswig Staude

Born in 1899, Marguerite Brunswig was the heiress to the Brunswig Drug Company fortune — one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in the United States. But wealth alone didn't define her. She was a sculptor, a painter, and above all, a visionary who believed that sacred architecture could fuse human engineering with the natural world.

In 1932, Staude stood at the base of the newly completed Empire State Building in New York City and experienced what she later described as a moment of revelation. The soaring vertical lines of the skyscraper inspired her to envision a church built around a massive cross — not a cross placed on top of a building, but one that served as the structural spine of the building itself.

She first approached Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright) to design the church for a site in Budapest, Hungary. Wright produced preliminary drawings, and the project seemed poised to move forward. Then World War II erupted, and the Budapest plans were shelved indefinitely.

After the war, Staude turned her attention to the American West. She explored potential sites across the Southwest before discovering a 250-foot red rock butte tucked between two sandstone pinnacles just south of Sedona on what is now Chapel Road off AZ-179. She knew instantly: this was the place. The rock itself would become part of the church.

Design & Construction: Building into the Butte

Staude commissioned architect August K. Strotz to translate her vision into engineering reality. Strotz, working closely with Staude's guidance and sketches, designed a structure that would integrate directly into the red rock butte — using the natural stone as both foundation and aesthetic anchor.

Construction at a Glance

Architect: August K. Strotz

Patron: Marguerite Brunswig Staude

Built: 1955–1956

Cross Height: 90 feet

Butte Height: 250 feet

Ramp Ascent: 200 feet from parking

Materials: Concrete, glass, steel

Cost: ~$300,000 (1956) / ~$3.3M today

Construction took just 18 months. Workers blasted anchor points into the butte, poured concrete forms around steel reinforcement, and erected the 90-foot cross that would serve as the structural spine of the entire building. The cross is not decorative — it is the skeleton from which the chapel hangs. Remove it, and the building collapses.

The total cost was approximately $300,000 in 1956 dollars, equivalent to roughly $3.3 million today. Staude funded the project entirely from her personal fortune. She donated the completed chapel to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, which maintains it to this day.

The Architecture: Where Modernism Meets the Sacred

The chapel is only 60 feet wide, but the 90-foot cross creates a dramatic vertical proportion that draws the eye upward — exactly as Staude intended. The building is a study in contrasts: raw concrete against polished glass, austere geometry against organic rock, human ambition against geological time.

Floor-to-ceiling windows behind the altar frame the red rock landscape as a living backdrop. Instead of stained glass depicting biblical scenes, the chapel uses the landscape itself as its sacred imagery. The view through the altar window shifts with every hour and every season — dawn light painting the rocks gold, storm clouds rolling over the buttes, winter snow dusting the pinnacles.

The building literally grows from the butte. Natural rock outcroppings protrude through the chapel floor and walls, visible reminders that this is not a structure placed upon the earth but one embedded within it. The modernist design serves a spiritual purpose: by stripping away ornamentation, the architecture forces the visitor's attention to the cross, the light, and the landscape.

The chapel has been listed as one of the “Seven Man-Made Wonders of Arizona” — alongside the Hoover Dam and London Bridge at Lake Havasu City — and is recognized as a significant example of mid-century modernist religious architecture.

Visiting the Chapel Today

Visitor Essentials

Hours: Open daily, 9 AM – 5 PM
Admission: Free (it's a functioning Catholic chapel)
Time needed: 30–60 minutes
Parking: Small lot on Chapel Road — arrive early to avoid the midday crush
Accessibility: The ramp to the viewing terrace is paved; the interior is wheelchair accessible
Gift shop: Located at the base near the parking area
Services: Active Catholic services are held regularly

The short walk from the parking lot up the ramp to the chapel offers progressively more dramatic views with every step. As you ascend 200 feet above the valley floor, the red rock formations of the Village of Oak Creek spread out below you — Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, and the distant spires of Cathedral Rock all visible on clear days.

The interior is surprisingly intimate. The chapel is small, seating only a few dozen visitors, but the wall of glass behind the altar creates a sense of infinite space. Many visitors sit quietly for several minutes, regardless of faith, absorbed by the interplay of light, stone, and silence.

Parking Tips

The chapel parking lot is small and fills quickly, especially between 10 AM and 2 PM. For the best experience, arrive before 9:30 AM or after 3:30 PM. Weekday mornings are the quietest. No Red Rock Pass is required — parking is free.

The Spiritual Experience

Regardless of faith — or the absence of it — visitors consistently describe a powerful sense of peace and awe inside the chapel. The combination of sacred architecture, natural beauty, and physical elevation creates a contemplative space that transcends denomination.

Many visitors light votive candles in the small alcove near the entrance. The flickering flames against the red rock walls create a meditative atmosphere that feels both ancient and timeless. Handwritten prayer cards fill the collection basket, left by travelers from around the world.

The chapel sits near what some consider a minor vortex site. While not one of Sedona's four primary energy vortexes, the area around the chapel has long been described by visitors as carrying a distinct sense of stillness and spiritual resonance. Whether that's geological energy or the power of intentional architecture is a question each visitor answers for themselves.

Photography Tips

Exterior Shots

The best exterior photos come from two vantage points: the road below the chapel in the morning when warm light hits the facade, or from the Chapel Trail across the road, which gives a dramatic low-angle perspective of the cross rising against the sky.

Interior & Altar Window

The interior altar window is best photographed in the afternoon when warm light streams through the glass. A wide-angle lens captures the full height of the cross and the landscape beyond. Flash photography is not permitted.

The Approach Ramp

The ramp ascending to the chapel offers dramatic low-angle shots of the cross against the sky. Shoot from the midpoint of the ramp for the most imposing perspective. Early morning or late afternoon light adds depth to the concrete textures.

Golden Hour

Like all Sedona landmarks, the chapel transforms during golden hour. The concrete takes on warm tones and the surrounding buttes glow orange-red. Sunset shots from the terrace are spectacular but crowded — arrive 45 minutes early.

Nearby Trails & Attractions

The chapel is located on Chapel Road, just off AZ-179 in the Village of Oak Creek area. Several excellent trails and landmarks are within minutes:

Chapel Trail

0.6 miles round trip, easy. Directly across the road from the chapel parking lot. This short beginner-friendly trail offers excellent views of the chapel from below.

Little Horse Trail

1.8 miles round trip, easy. A gentle trail through red rock terrain with views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. A perfect complement to a chapel visit.

Bell Rock

A short drive south on AZ-179. One of Sedona's most iconic formations and a popular vortex site with easy walking trails around the base.

Village of Oak Creek

Restaurants, shops, and galleries just minutes from the chapel. A good place to grab lunch before or after your visit.

A Monument to Vision

Marguerite Brunswig Staude died in 1988, but her chapel endures as one of the most visited landmarks in Arizona. It stands as proof that great architecture doesn't compete with the landscape — it collaborates with it. The Chapel of the Holy Cross doesn't sit on the red rocks of Sedona; it emerges from them, as inevitable as the stone itself.

Whether you visit for spiritual reflection, architectural appreciation, or simply the view from the terrace, the chapel delivers an experience that no photograph can fully capture. It's one of those rare places where human ambition and natural beauty achieve a kind of harmony — and it's waiting for you, 200 feet above the valley floor, between two ancient sandstone pinnacles.

Architecture in the Rocks: The Chapel of the Holy Cross