History
Taylor Memorial Chapel was built in 1929 to the designs of the New Mexico architect John Gaw Meem at La Foret, a private estate north of Colorado Springs in what is now Black Forest. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 under reference 99000447 and is recognized as one of the northernmost works of Meem, who was the principal national figure in the Pueblo Revival movement of the early twentieth century.
Alice Bemis Taylor commissioned the chapel as a memorial to her husband, Frederick Morgan Pike Taylor, on the family's retreat property. Meem designed it as a small Pueblo Revival composition with stuccoed earthen-finish walls, projecting log vigas, a stepped parapet, and deeply recessed openings, in the idiom he had refined at Santa Fe through his work on the Cathedral, La Fonda Hotel, and numerous private residences. Inside, the sculptor Eugenie Shonnard contributed an elaborate twenty-foot reredos and carved altar furnishings, and a bell salvaged from an old New Mexico mission church was installed in the bell wall.
The chapel served as Mrs. Taylor's private place of worship until her death in 1942. In 1944 the property was donated to the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ, under whose stewardship it became part of the La Foret Conference and Retreat Center.
The chapel today functions as a museum and interpreted historic resource within the active La Foret retreat property, open for worship and for visiting groups.
Within Colorado's Pueblo Revival inventory, Taylor Memorial Chapel is significant as a direct Meem commission, carrying the Santa Fe regional vocabulary across the state line into the southern Front Range.
Common questions
What is Taylor Memorial Chapel?
Taylor Memorial Chapel is a historic Pueblo Revival style chapel located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 99000447.
When was Taylor Memorial Chapel built?
Construction records for Taylor Memorial Chapel are incomplete. The chapel's listing on the National Register of Historic Places confirms its recognized historic significance.
Where is Taylor Memorial Chapel located?
Taylor Memorial Chapel is located at 6145 Shoup Road in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Is Taylor Memorial Chapel open to the public?
No, Taylor Memorial Chapel is treated as a private property in this record and is not listed as open for public tours.
What architectural style is Taylor Memorial Chapel?
Taylor Memorial Chapel is built in the Pueblo Revival style, an early-twentieth-century regional architecture inspired by the adobe pueblos of the American Southwest, characterized by earthen-toned stucco walls and softly rounded forms.
Why is Taylor Memorial Chapel historically significant?
Taylor Memorial Chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 99000447, recognizing its architectural or historical importance to Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado.