I didn't add this entry chronologically. This was a quick stop on the way back from Wildlife Safari, due to my architectural interest. This building sits on the brow of a hill to the east overlooking I-80, a bit north from the Platte River bridges, considered about the mid point between Omaha and Lincoln. It will be easier to get to once a new viaduct and roadway are completed, now in progress, though it's certainly not difficult to reach. Where I-80 passes between the Nebraska Crossing outlet stores and a large truck stop, get off eastbound and drive south of the truck stop two miles, then one mile west on a gravel road, to the narrow entrance to a small paved parking lot. The visitors center, as it were, is a Greek cross--that's a + (plus sign)--covered with the prairie, in effect underground, though it's to avoid distracting from the bucolic site/sight of the striking chapel. It has offices, brochures, photos, some kind of library. I simply walked through it, turning north to the outdoors again, following the small water channel cut in the sidewalk the short distance to the shrine.
This is what it looks like from the east, on the gravel road. Obviously, the shape has rustic reference to granaries and barns.
Seen from the slope above the parking lot, the shrine shows off its stylized adaptation with wood and glass. Left center in the background is Interstate 80 and rest stop to the west, below the shrine's hilltop vantage point.
Leave a comment