Outside of Colorado Springs on the front Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains the soaring spires of the United States Air Force Academy Chapel stand as a shining example of modernist architecture. Composed of seventeen spires that rise 150 feet into the air, the profile of the chapel mimics the mountains behind it. Each individual spire is is made up of 100 polygon shapes with the crisp edges giving the chapel a strikingly futuristic feel. The main floor houses the nine-hundred seat Protestant service area directly underneath the striking spires. Between the spires are one-foot-wide panels of colored glass, arrayed with cubes of every color of the rainbow. The panels bounce light off the faceted interior of the chapel during the day as the sun streams in. At night, interior illumination sends their color pouring over the outside of the aluminum spires, highlighting the materials reflective qualities. Underneath the main level is the area devoted to holding Catholic services. This level is demarcated by low sweeping stonework and large mosaic of stone angels behind the altar. Also on the terrace level is the Jewish service section. A circular screen of Israeli cypress panels ensconces the prayer area and the floor is made of Jerusalem Brownstone tiling donated by the Israeli Defense force in 1960.
\nIt was these three faiths that architect Walter Netsch was tasked with designing the building around in 1954 when the firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill received the contract to design the Air Force Academy Campus. The rest of the campus is made up of lower profile, modernist structures that seem to hover above the earth. The Cadet Chapel has remained the crown gem of the campus since its completion in 1962.
\nThe sub-genre of googie architecture experienced peak popularity in the mid-century and left its largest marks upon commercial structures in the West. Diners and motels are the most common manifestations of this style. However, while many googie structures are commercial that is not a requirement for the classification. Perhaps the most important aspect of googie architecture is that the structures appear to exist out of time. Materials like aluminum, neon, and concrete are utilized to give the buildings a futuristic and industrial touch, as if they were designed in the 22nd century instead of the 21st.. The Cadet Chapel epitomizes the idealistic futurism of the googie genre, brought out of the realm of the commercial and into the spiritual.
\nIn 2019 renovations began with the initial goal of fixing water leakage problems that had been persistent since the building was completed. Restoration has been ongoing due to the delicate nature of the historic structure and is projected to be completed in 2027. In 2012, fifty years after the completion of the Cadet Chapel, SOM returned to the campus to create a new event center called Polaris Hall. The glass prism tower of Polaris Hall is a testament to the lasting appeal of strikingly modernist architecture like that of the Cadet Chapel that inspired it.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"An architectural triumph, the United States Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado Springs is a futuristic vision of spirituality and light.","website":"","related_resources":["“Art: Spires That Soar.” Time, July 27, 1962. https://time.com/archive/6623638/art-spires-that-soar/.
","Bowden, Ray. “U.S. Air Force Academy’s Cadet Chapel Restoration Project Expands.” United States Air Force Academy, April 22, 2022. https://www.usafa.edu/u-s-air-force-academys-cadet-chapel-restoration-project-expands/.
","Bowden, Ray. “4-Year Restoration Project on Cadet Chapel to Start in 2018.” United States Air Force Academy, January 15, 2023. https://www.usafa.edu/4-year-restoration-project-on-cadet-chapel-to-start-in-2018/.
","“Cadet Chapel.” United States Air Force Academy, January 24, 2025. https://www.usafa.edu/facilities/cadet-chapel/.
","Hamilton, Mae. “Googie Architecture, Explained: A Guide to L.A.’s Unique and Quirky ’60s-Era Vision of the Future.” Robb Report, May 30, 2024. Acessed May 7, 2025. https://robbreport.com/shelter/gallery/googie-architecture-explained-los-angeles-1235623713/googiearch1/.
","Hill, David. “Som’s Polaris Hall Takes Flight at the U.S. Air Force.” Architect. Accessed May 7, 2025. https://www.architectmagazine.com/Design/soms-polaris-hall-takes-flight-at-the-u-s-air-force-academy_o.
","Kode, Anna. The Fight to Save Googie, the style of postwar optimism - The New York Times, January 2, 2025. Accessed May 7, 2025. unlocked_article_code=1.tU4.xkqt.hPWwKJADOE5W®ister=email&auth=register-email
","Perez, Adelyn. “Ad Classics: USAFA Cadet Chapel / Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill.” ArchDaily, June 7, 2010. https://www.archdaily.com/63449/ad-classics-usafa-cadet-chapel-skidmore-owings-merrill-2.
","“Religion: With Steeple.” Time, July 18, 1955. https://time.com/archive/6804090/religion-with-steeple/.
\n","“U.S. Air Force Academy Campus and Cadet Chapel.” SOM, June 26, 2024. https://www.som.com/projects/u-s-air-force-academy-cadet-chapel/. ","Vaughn, Zach. “Cadet Chapel Reaches Restoration Milestone.” United States Air Force Academy, April 3, 2023. https://www.usafa.edu/cadet-chapel-reaches-restoration-milestone/."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/6fa877fa8a8572d3d403698d65fbe97e.jpg":{"id":3958,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Interior of the main atrium in the Cadet Chapel","description":"The nine-hundred seats of the Protestant worship hall are framed on all sides by the faceted aluminum walls of the chapel and bathed in multi-colored light from the panels. The building’s usage of aluminum is deliberate and readily apparent. The aluminum of the Cadet Chapel is not only a lightweight building material, but an important decorative choice. The reflective and malleable material is a hallmark of googie structures and its futuristic usage in the chapel helps to demarcate the structure as googie. | Library of Congress, Photo by Carol Highsmith, available at https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.48612/?r=-0.325%2C-0.017%2C1.74%2C0.834%2C0 ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/6fa877fa8a8572d3d403698d65fbe97e.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/aed0bd49ac123c5bf5b94f19e79f15d8.jpg":{"id":3959,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The exterior of the United States Air Force Academy’s Cadet Chapel","description":"The seventeen spires resemble an accordion as they reach for the heavens strike a unique outline against the blue Colorado sky. The sharp acute angles of the repeating spires contribute a great deal to the building’s futuristic charm. The sharp aluminum exterior of the building brings to mind the wings or tail-fins of planes, appropriate for the Air Force Academy, while also helping add to the slightly industrial feel that accompanies the futuristic aesthetic of googie architecture. | Wikimedia Creative Commons, Photo by Anthony Quintano, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_Academy_Chapel_August_2019_Colorado_Springs.jpg ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/aed0bd49ac123c5bf5b94f19e79f15d8.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/92299f243e6ea8b300029334b9e40149.jpg":{"id":3960,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The multi-colored glass panels that run along the inside of the Academy Chapel bring an aspect of the divine into this ultra-modern space","description":"Stained glass and western places of worships have long been associated with one another. Architect Walter Netsch’s re-interpretation of this material elevates both the material and his own designs. | Wikimedia Creative Commons, Photo by Anthony Quintano, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_Academy_Chapel_August_2019_Colorado_Springs_-_48671627366.jpg ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/92299f243e6ea8b300029334b9e40149.jpg"}}}![https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_Academy_Chapel_August_2019_Colorado_Springs.jpg](\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_Academy_Chapel_August_2019_Colorado_Springs.jpg\"){kind=link}
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