Roofless Church

New Harmony, Indiana

Architect: Philip Johnson

The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony Indiana is home to several architectural attractions.  One of the most prominent works is the non-denominational Roofless Church designed by architect Philip Johnson. The Church is comprised of an open park surrounded by a rectangular brick wall.  The organization of the park resembles a formal church with a center aisle and an altar.  The altar however is replaced with a flower-like shaped dome with cedar shingles engulfing a bronze statue, surrounded by shrubbery placed on an ornately laid out cobblestone patio.  The canopy structure resembles a cloth draped over a table and has been noted to cast a shadow that looks like an open rose.  The golden rose was the symbol of the utopian community that founded New Harmony.

The simplicity of the Church and the inclusion of trees and landscaping in the space is part of its charm.  It is a clean Modernist statement about the preservation of nature and religion. It is also a unique project of Philip Johnson’s varied catalog. It is one of Indiana’s hidden treasures and is included as one of the first 50 projects in the Indiana Architecture Database created by the Indiana Architectural Foundation.

The Indiana Architecture Database was created to archive significant architectural works within the State of Indiana. For more information about this project and the Indiana Architecture Database visit https://www.architectureindiana.com/.