Archinect - News

Rev. Robert H. Schuller, patron of architecture, 1926-2015

2015-04-03T00:25:00-04:00

"Come as you are in the family car"

"ARTESIA, Calif. (AP) — The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, a California televangelist and author who beamed his upbeat messages on faith and redemption to millions of followers from his landmarkCrystal Cathedral only to see his empire crumble in his waning years, has died. He was 88."

The Rev. Schuller known as the pastor who invented religious marketing and branding was also a patron of architecture. He started his congregation as a rented space from Orange Drive-inTtheatre. Later, Schuller hired modernist architect Richard Neutra who completed The Tower of Hope in 1968 and in 1980 Crystal Cathedral was dedicated as it was designed by Philip Johnson, a Pritzker Prize winning (its first in 1979) American architect. The latest addition was a Visitor Center designed by a New York architect Richar Meier in 2003 who also won a Pritzker Prize in 1984.

Crystal Cathedral congregants ‘devastated’ by church sale

2011-11-21T13:19:55-05:00

Some congregants at Crystal Cathedral said they felt blindsided by the church board after it threw its weight behind a bid from the Catholic Church –- an offer that effectively boots them from their landmark site in Garden Grove. The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kwan to allow the sale of Crystal Cathedral to the Diocese of Orange was met with tears.

Philip Johnson's iconic church gets purchased by the Catholic church.

Hour of Power to Power of Cash: Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy sale sparks bidding war

2011-08-11T13:19:20-04:00

I believe with every fiber of my being that God turned the eyes of the world on Crystal Cathedral because God wants to make a big bold statement, he wants the world to know that he is a God who still does miracles

Philip Johnson's masterpiece, the Crystal Cathedral is the subject of bidding wars between Chapman University, Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the retailer Hobby Lobby. Sheila Schuller Coleman, director of ministry at the church and the daughter of Schuller also thinks they can raise the money and keep the church if they can raise $50 million. The Garden Grove campus also includes buildings by Richard Neutra and Richard Meier.

The Crystal Cathedral was parodied in the Simpsons episode "Natural Born Kissers" (towards the end)