Christ Church Lutheran
3244 34th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Eliel Saarinen 1949
What is immediately striking about this
commission is how humble it is—what a true service the architect performed for the
community. The church brochure summarizes the history of the project:
After abandoning plans for a Gothic type of
structure, the building committee of Christ Church turned to the simpler designs popular
in Scandinavia. The Finnish born architect Eliel Saarinen, himself the son of a Lutheran
pastor, accepted the challenge to build an "honest" church. With such projects
as the Berkshire Music Center, Helsinki Railroad station, and the town layout of Reval,
Estonia to his credit, the design of a relatively small church became almost a hobby with
him and turned out to be his last completed work before his death six months later.
Eliel Saarinen: Finish American Architect and
Educator, by Albert Christ-Janer (Chicago: The Univ. of Chicago P., revised ed. 1979)
gives a sense of the breadth of Saarinen’s design talent. There are delicate
watercolors and sketches, precisely drafted city plans, and designs for schools, churches,
theaters, office towers, furniture, and silverware. Saarinen was also technically astute,
using acoustic design to further the spiritual quality of the space:, by Albert Christ-Janer (Chicago: The Univ. of Chicago P., revised ed. 1979)
gives a sense of the breadth of Saarinen’s design talent. There are delicate
watercolors and sketches, precisely drafted city plans, and designs for schools, churches,
theaters, office towers, furniture, and silverware. Saarinen was also technically astute,
using acoustic design to further the spiritual quality of the space:
Because of Saarinen’s concern for sound
control, starting with the basic shape of the building and extending to minor details, the
acoustics of Christ Church are probably the finest of any religious building in the United
States. The tone and clarity of the music within it is incomparable. Although not
small—it seats 600—every syllable spoken by the minister is as clearly audible
in the last row as it is in the front of the church. In effect, the congregation is
"within" the service, at its acoustical center, rather than being merely at a
crossover point in a path of reverberating sound.
Because sound waves reverberate back and forth
between parallel surfaces, there are no parallel surfaces in the church. Saarinen also
addressed acoustics materially, by placing a sound-absorbent surface across from any
sound-reflective surface.
Christy Rogers 1998
How to visit
I showed up unannounced on a late Sunday
afternoon and was kindly let in, but I’m sure they would appreciate calling ahead.
Call +1 612 721 6611.
