Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square in New Orleans is one of the closest things in the U.S. to a classic European cathedral though obviously people who have visited Notre Dame will claim its not impressive.
The National Cathedral in Washington DC also evokes a European feel.
There's obviously the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City.
A stunning example of modern religious architecture is the chapel at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
Echoing everyone else here about the Cathedral Bascillica in St. Louis. I was in complete awe every time I drove by it, and for one year I lived within walking distance of it. It never got old.
Garden Grove, CA is home to Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral; probably the most impressive non-Catholic or Mormon cathedral I've visited, and proves that modern places of worship (1980s televangical excess funded by PTL Ministries) can be just as impressive as those built centuries earlier. It's also surrounded by an older, mid-century chapel and plaza, and its certainly worth a detour from nearby Disneyland.
DC arguably has the second most impressive Mormon temple, and when I visited last year, certainly felt like an important place of worship, evoking the feel of a grand hotel and conference center mixed with an impressive surrounding courtyard, all made more impressive in that its tucked away in a quite suburban neighborhood, even if you can get a good glimpse of it from the Beltway.
The Episcopalians got the great architects in the USA during the age of building great churches - it's like shooting ducks in a barrel on this topic, and this is not even the tip of the iceberg:
The Cathedral of St John the Divine in Manhattan, of course:
An exemplary small jewel: the chapel of the monastery of the Episcopal Society of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge, MA, one of the late great works of Ralph Adams Cram:
Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. Burial site of several famous early Americans including Alexander Hamilton. Church and cemetery located directly across from Wall St and the NYSE.
The Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis (the "New Cathedral") is over 100 years old and large enough in size and bulk to house St. Marks in Venice. It is a Byzantine wonder inside. I lived in St. Louis for 30 years and never visited it until a recent trip back home.
The "Old Cathedral", Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (1834), is impressive in its own right as a replacement for the older frontier church built on the riverfront. I attended the Old Cathedral for a couple family weddings.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.