Thorncrown Chapel and Bentonville

Daughter Kelly is an (among other things) Interior Designer.  In the process of getting her Master’s Degree in that field a few year’s ago, she became acquainted with building design and architecture.  Brother Brad pursued a degree in architecture before serving as a pilot in the USAF.  One of his favorites is the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.  The architect of the Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka, Springs, AR -- was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.  The chapel and support building reflects his influence.

Kelly knew Thorncrown Chapel and suggested we stop by and take it in.  So we did.  It was beautiful and simple.  Millions of visitors have seen it.

                                      

The design has been labelled “Ozark Gothic” and stands 48 feet tall with over 6,000 square feet of glass and 425 windows.  

You can read more of the inspiration and history of the creation of the chapel here.  Located in the hills near Pine Bluff, AR, Jim Reed bought some land for his retirement home in the beautiful Ozark Hills. Others became aware of the beauty and would stop by and take in the scenic area.  Instead of limiting access, Reed invited others to see it.  

Then he came up with the idea of building a glass chapel there in the woods.  Next he enlisted an architect who followed the design influences of Frank Llyod Wright and the simple, beautiful chapel was built.  Construction began in 1979 and was finished in 1980.

This book is about the chapel.

After an hour or so there, we continued on our way to see Bentonville and the Walmart Museum. Approaching the downtown area, we found the museum and were disappointed to see that it was closed for an 18-month renovation.  But they created a Walmart Heritage Lab a few blocks away to tell Walmarts story.

The town was picturesque. It was a beautiful day and the small town center was full of flowers and color.  

A Walmart Fresh Market was a block away and we picked something up for our microwave dinner.  Not surprisingly, the store was spotless and showcased an amazing variety of choices.  One would expect that in the town of the home offices of the worlds largest chain.

We quickly found out that the town has a number of beautiful murals on buildings throughout the town.  Apparently 19 artists have decorated the town.  But that’s another story...

We returned to Roadrunner 2.0 and drove over to the Walmart Home Offices and the Heritage Lab (temporary museum).

The Heritage Lab museum was a modest but fact-filled presentation of how Sam Walton created the worlds retail chain.  They even had a life size hologram (Mr. Sam hologram) where he speaks.  That must be part of the guided tours but we wandered around for awhile on a self-guided tour.  

We had lunch and continued our day on to Tulsa for the night.

It was a full day and we stayed at Spring Hill Suites.  Once we got into town we found a Costco and filled up.  It was rush hour so it took some extra time to get back to the hotel and relax for the evening.

Thanks for joining us for another day on our Coast-to-Coast trip in Roadrunner 2.0.