10 Amazing American Churches That Everyone Should Visit

Forbes

21-03-2025

Mission San Xavier Del Bac on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation near Tucson, Arizona, was built ... More by Franciscan missionaries in the late 1700s. (Photo by Robert Alexander)
With Lent underway and Easter just around the corner, churches are once again immersed in one of their busiest seasons (along with Christmas).
While the emphasis might be on the sacred rites and ceremonies that unfold inside churches, it's also a good time to consider their wider impact.
Specifically, their architectural significance.
Ever since Byzantine emperor Justinian commissioned the construction of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia in the 6th century AD, churches have also functioned as cultural landmarks and tourist attractions.
While faithful flocked to Notre Dame in Paris and St. Peters in Rome to worship, they were also blown away by the amazing art and architecture inside these holy shrines.
That's also true in the United States, where churches are among the oldest and most storied buildings and among the nation's most stunning modern structures.
Below are 10 incredible American churches that deserve a visit — even if they don't represent your denomination and even if you're not religious.
Unlike many old Spanish churches that are now museums or parks, this mission on the outskirts of Tucson is still a very active place of worship and learning as well as meeting place for the local Tohono O'odham community.
Completed in 1797, San Xavier is Arizona's oldest European-style structure and arguably the most striking of all the old Spanish churches sprinkled across the Southwest and California.
Guided tours are available daily except Sunday, when the parking lot features food stalls selling tamales, frybread and what many consider Tucson's best popovers.
U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs, a nondenominational place of worship for ... More all faiths. (Photo by Jeff Greenberg)
Designed by famed American architect Walter Netsch, the futuristic structure symbolizes the dawn of the space age and the U.S. Air Force mission to reach for the skies.
Topped by 17 spires and modern stained glass set between 100 steel tetrahedrons, the nondenominational chapel features Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim worship areas plus an outdoor stone circle for Earth-centered spiritual rites.
The Cadet Chapel is currently undergoing a $158-million renovation and expected to open again in 2027.
When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Salt Lake Temple in 1893, it was the most extravagant and awe-inspiring structure between St. Louis and San Francisco.
A blend of Gothic and Romanesque features, the façade features three spires, the highest topped by a golden statue of the Angel Moroni.
Non-Mormon visitors are not allowed inside but can explore Temple Square and can attend Tabernacle Choir performances in the silver-domed concert hall.
Gabriel Loire"s stained-glass "Glory Window" spirals upwards inside the Chapel of Thanksgiving in ... More Dallas.
All religions and cultures are welcome at this landmark church in Dallas. Inside the spiral tower, the astonishing stained-glass 'Glory Window' by French artist Gabriel Loire symbolizes the 'infinite upward reach of the human spirit.'
The triangular park outside offers a green respite amid the downtown skyscrapers as well as a place to reflect on other artworks including a mosaic reproduction of Norman Rockwell's 'Golden Rule' illustration that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post and a Wall of Presidents that honors the Thanksgiving proclamations of White House residents.
Also called the Pretty Place Chapel because of its amazing views, this open-sided chapel at YMCA Camp Greenville offers panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains from every pew.
Constructed in 1941 by local businessman Fred Symmes, the wood-and-stone church was badly damaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024 but is now fully repaired and open to the public during daylight hours for prayer, medication, weddings, or even just the view.
Darth Vader joins other grotesques and gargoyles on a facade of the National Cathedral in ... More Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong)
The world's sixth largest cathedral towers over the nation's capital, an immense Episcopal church that also ranks as the third tallest building in Washington DC and the nation's second largest church of any kind.
Not nearly as old as it looks, the building wasn't completely finished until 1988. Fashioned after Europe's medieval masterpieces, the Neo-Gothic structure features an entourage of gargoyles that includes a statue of Darth Vadar and a stained-glass 'Space Window' that contains an actual moon rock
America's single largest church is the unfinished edifice in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood. Although construction started in 1892, St. John's remains a work in progress because of financial shortages and builders who kept changing their minds about the architectural style.
Is it Neo Gothic, Romanesque Revival or Byzantine Revival? Actually, a blend of all three. Although it lacks a tower and central steeple, the cathedral is nonetheless impressive, especially the Chapel of the Seven Tongues and the Great Bronze Doors.
Boston's oldest church (established 1723), this national historic landmark is far more famed for its pivotal role in the Revolutionary War than anything faith based.
On the night of April 18, 1775, church sexton Robert Newman climbed into the belfry. Following the instructions 'One if by land, two if by sea,' he displayed two illuminated lanterns that alerted Paul Revere and other Patriot riders that the Redcoats were advancing by water to the showdown at Lexington and Concord.
St. Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, a masterpiece of Brutalist architecture by Marcel ... More Breuer (Photo by Kerem Yucel)
With The Brutalist garnering so much movie awards attention, that nearly forgotten architectural style has stepped back into the limelight again. Europe is rife with Brutalist churches, but there are a couple of outstanding examples on this side of the Atlantic including this abbey church in Collegeville.
Designed by renowned German Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer. Rather than a belltower, the church features an imposing 'bell banner' — a massive vertical concrete slab poised on parabolic arches with openings for a wooden cross and five church bells.
Breuer also designed the Brutalist, trapezoidal-shaped St. Francis de Sales church in Muskegon, Michigan.
Nestled in the forest foothills outside Rapid City, this Lutheran chapel is an exact replica of Norway's historic Borgund Stave Church, built around 1150 AD during the early years of Christianity in the Viking world.
Built almost entirely of wood (including wooden pegs instead of metal nails), the Black Hills chapel features six roofs that gradually rise to a peak. The church property also includes a small log cabin museum, a gift shop inside a replica stabbur storehouse, and a peaceful Prayer Walk through the woods.
Chapel in the Hills near Rapid City, South Dakota replicates an historic Norwegian stave church ... More (Photo by Nik Wheeler)