LOPC History Part 5 – The Sanctuary and Stained Glass Windows
The LOPC sanctuary was designed by the architectural firm of Burton Rockwell and Richard Banwell of San Francisco. Ground breaking occurred on Sunday, December 18, 1966, and the official dedication was January 5, 1969. The overall shape is an elongated octagon with proportions pleasing to the eye and very functional. The shape is first announced in the patio where the design appears in the sunken garden. This recess~d area serves the purpose of encouraging fellowship by embracing those in it. It also magnifies the upward vision of the sanctuary height as it is being approached. This same octagonal shape was repeated in the Chapel Administration Building design when it was built in the early 1980s.
The sanctuary building nestles under its substantial umbrella-shaped copper roof. The metal's green patina weds the structure to this oak studded hilltop site. The green patina will increase with time, just as it has on the roof of Saint Peter's in Rome. This building is 122 feet long and sixty-eight feet wide, the area being just over 8000 square feet. The height of the side walls is twenty-five feet, and it is an additional thirty five feet to the peak of the roof. The steeple adds thirty-seven feet, and the cross is another thirty-six feet, making the overall height 133 feet above the ground.
As one gazes upward, the view is of solid fir timbers, some from as far away as Alaska. Jack Everett, one of our charter members with great expertise in the lumber industry, helped in the location of these beams.
Each of the formed, reinforced concrete pillars is supported by a concrete foundation slab, which, in turn, is supported by four twenty four inch diameter concrete piers on five foot centers. These concrete piers penetrate downward to depths ranging from twenty-two feet at the entrance end to forty feet at the pulpit end.
The floor is flat, which is traditional in all cathedrals. The pulpit is raised, again a tradition for cathedrals, but a practicality that allows worshipers to see the preacher.
There are three crosses in the design. The largest is on the steeple, lighted at night, symbolically reaching out to the community. The next largest and most visible is the one in the front of the sanctuary. The smallest, above the rear doors, is a reminder to us as we leave worship. The crosses are all empty, signifying that Christ is risen!
The exterior and interior walls are of redwood. After twenty-eight years, the exterior walls received their first coats of restorative treatment to enhance appearance and further extend life of the redwood.
The front doors are of oak. The horizontal oak reinforcements were a necessary addition to correct a tendency to warp in the sunlight.
Perhaps the most creative elements in the design are the four massive, formed pillars each carved out to provide space for a one foot wide by fifteen feet high stained glass window.
Mark Adams, a renowned San Francisco artist, was commissioned to do the windows and to symbolically depict:
Adams searched through the factories where stained glass is manufactured, selecting the correct thickness and hue to impart the effect that he wanted to create.
In The Creation, one can see a spectacular white star with flames of color above and below it. With that light it is easy to see the green earth and the beginning of life.
In the Flood, one can see the stars born in the Creation, finally visible after all those weeks of rain. Also clearly visible, is the rainbow as the floodwaters begin to recede.
In The Crucifixion, the artist says that God made man in the image of Christ, symbolized by the cross of green in the center - green chosen for new life in Him. Above is regal purple and the blood red represents the love and sacrifice of Christ. The small white section at the bottom depicts eternal brilliance, mostly hidden by the drama of the incarnation.
In the Resurrection has been interpreted by some as a very different sunrise with a turquoise sun at the bottom against a gold and crimson background. Others see the tombstone rolled away in the wonderful brilliance of a dawning Easter morning.
This entire structure is a statement of strength, with its concrete foundation, pillars and great timbers. The timbers are not structurally tight, thus allowing for some movement. In this way, the building can withstand storm and earthquake. Seismic retrofit work was done in 2002 to be sure that the sanctuary met all of the current construction codes.
