The Suburban Church: Modernism and Community in Postwar America

(Paperback)

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After World War II, America's religious denominations spent billions on church architecture as they spread into the suburbs. In this richly illustrated history of midcentury modern churches in the Midwest, Gretchen Buggeln shows how architects and suburban congregations joined forces to work out a vision of how modernist churches might help reinvig

Reviews

"Gretchen Buggelns The Suburban Church beautifully recovers the life and cultural significance of a post-1945 American regional architecture so ubiquitous weve hardly noticed it. Focused on the prodigious output of three prominent Midwest architects, The Suburban Church pops their sanctuaries into view so forcefully that readers will never drive by again without stoppinga transforming and deft cultural reconstruction."Jon Butler, Yale University

"Theres value in [Buggelns] documentation, especially as many of those involved in building the churches have passed away. Its no small compliment to say that her enthusiasm for the individuals in this movement is winning."TheNew Republic

"Intended for graduate students and their professors, the book might nonetheless gain some attention from pastors and those appointed to building committees."Catholic Library World

"Buggelns thorough study of the suburban American church is a great read, full of detail delivered through superb architectural historical story-telling."Art and Christianity

"A fascinating account of the philosophical and practical origins of these churches and a paean to the vibrant communities that built and used them."Marginalia

"Preservationists, church members, historians, and students of suburbs should all rely on this essential work."David R. Bains, The Annals of Iowa

"This is an excellent and detailed account of the postwar growth in Protestant church building and architecture in the Midwest. A passionate story."Journal of American Culture

"Buggeln's well-written, engaging, and detailed text will be of great use to historians of architecture, as well as religion. She has conducted exhaustive research from a wide variety of sources including church memorabilia and records, oral histories, architectural drawings, and contemporary newspapers and periodicals, in addition to the essential secondary texts."Buildings & Landscapes

Author Bio

Gretchen Buggeln holds the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Chair in Christianity and the Arts at Valparaiso University. She is author of Temples of Grace: The Material Transformation of Connecticuts Churches, 17901840.