House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America [Hardcover]

Dominique Browning (Editor), Peter J. Gomes (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 2843238803 | ISBN-13: 978-2843238802 | Publication Date: October 1, 2006

The sacred buildings of America churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, meetinghouses are as diverse as the people they serve. In this book, we hear from architects, designers, clergy, and congregations as we explore and reflect on the intersection of faith, design, and community. We visit a variety of houses of worship across the nation, from a Quaker meetinghouse built in 1694 to a Baptist church constructed by slaves and a synagogue completed at the end of the twentieth century.

Featured sites include: Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo, ND; Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI; Chuang Yen, Putnam Co., NY; First Baptist, Savannah, GA; St. Paul s, St. Croix, VI; Chapel, Windsor, FL; Marjorie Powell Allen, MO; Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, Lawrence, KA; San Juan Bautista, Miami, FL; Christ Church, Cranbrook, MI; Central Synagogue, New York, NY; Summer and personal chapels: Newport, RI; Saratoga Springs, NY; Cooperstown, NY; Temple Israel Chapel, Miami, FL; Friends Meeting, Flushing, NY; Congregation B nai Yisrael, Armonk, NY; First Presbyterian, Greenwich, CT; First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley, CA; Civic Center Synagogue, New York, NY; St. Andrew s Dune Church, Southampton, NY; Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle, WA; St. Patrick, Oklahoma City, OK.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: Assouline (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2843238803
• ISBN-13: 978-2843238802
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Architectural

More About the Author

Dominique Browning is a writer, editor and consultant in the newspaper and magazine fields. She blogs at SlowLoveLife.com.

She has worked with and written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, O, the Oprah magazine, Departures, Food &Wine, Travel & Leisure, Body + Soul, Wired and On Topic, among others. She writes a monthly column about environmental issues for the Environmental Defense Fund website.

Until November 2007, Browning was the editor-in-chief of House & Garden, a magazine of 950,000 readers. Browning began her career in 1977 working at Savvy and American Photographer magazines. She also worked at Esquire, Texas Monthly, Newsweek, and Mirabella magazine before joining Conde Nast.

Browning is the author of three books: Around the House and In the Garden: a Memoir of Heartbreak, Healing, and Home Improvement; Paths of Desire: the Passion of a Suburban Gardener; and Slow Love: How I Lost my Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness. She has also authored several books under the House & Garden brand.

Browning is a classically trained pianist, and also performed with Wesleyan's Javanese Gamelan orchestra. She is the mother of two sons and lives in New York and Rhode Island.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, Even for a coffee table book., July 27, 2007

By 

P. M Simon "El Simon Asombroso" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America (Hardcover)

What can you say? Nice pictures of churches but no theme to choice except maybe political correctness of sect or geography.

Certainly, there was no real 'great architects' theme-- no theology, no style guiding the choices. Browning sort of went "well, these are nice...." The end product, like most coffee table books, is a thousand miles wide and a centimeter deep, and mixes English and Metric, to boot.

Definitely not worth the price, even if the photography is excellent.

How to improve: A seriously revised edition with a back-page of better information about each church or synagogue, some organizational theme (try Maine to California? 1600-2000, etc.), and some glaring omissions (St. John's Episcopal in Queens, a classic Orthodox Church from Alaska, a Franciscan mission from New Mexico? The churches of Columbus, Indiana) rectified would be a good start.

Wait and hope--pray. For now, put your money in the collection plate instead, I'd suggest.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a beautiful book!, January 23, 2007

By 

Cara Hanson (Bowling Green, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America (Hardcover)

I bought the book for my boyfriend who is an architect, and he loves it! It is a great coffee table book, but also includes in depth accounts from a myriad of people. It's a great buy and perfect for all!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Coffee Table Book, January 9, 2007

By 

R. Backman (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America (Hardcover)

This book has beautiful photography as well as interesting facts and historical information about each house of worship. It includes a vast variety of architecture and religious affiliations. We bought it for a gift for our Pastor.