Brophy College Chapel
Encyclopedia
The chapel at Brophy College Preparatory
Brophy College Preparatory
Brophy College Preparatory is a Jesuit high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is currently limited to all-male enrollment of approximately 1,200 students. It is operated independently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix...

, a high school and former college in central Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in that state. It was listed on the NRHP in 1993.

History and architecture

The building was constructed in 1928 (the cornerstone was laid on April 29) along with the original school as a donation from Mrs. William Henry Brophy in memory of her late husband. The Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival building was built from brick with stucco facing, along with clay tile for the roof. It was designed by Lescher & Kibbey
Lescher & Mahoney
Lescher & Mahoney, a Phoenix, Arizona architecture firm, designed many significant buildings in Arizona, including several architectural significant theater buildings...

, prominent local architects who also designed several other NRHP-listed buildings in Phoenix, and built by the E.J. Wasielewski Construction Company.

Situated along Phoenix's Central Avenue in mid-town, the bell tower of the chapel, which is 135 feet (41.1 m) tall and topped with a dome and cross, is the focal point of the campus as well as Brophy's logo.

The chapel is square and measures 100x100 feet. It is two and a half stories tall. Various pilasters divide the building into vertical bays.

Interior architecture

The building's altar is made of pink tufa stone, quarried near Wickenburg
Wickenburg, Arizona
Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 6,423.-Geography:Wickenburg is located at ....

, designed in a Mexican baroque style. A painting of the Holy Family, made by an unknown Italian artist in the 1400s, is framed above. Inside the sacristy, a 1670 crucifix from the Monk's Cemetery at Evaux in France — a survivor of the World War I Battle of Verdun — is hung.

Local blacksmiths made the heavily Spanish-inspired wrought iron chandeliers. Other metalwork includes the original Communion rail, moved after Vatican Council II to a side altar.

The stained glass windows were executed in Dublin, Ireland, by the artists of An Tur Gloine. All except the one in the choir loft had been ordered by 1934; a local artist was commissioned to create this remaining window in 1985.

Parish use

In 1928, St. Francis parish was established as the second in Phoenix (St. Mary's was the first). The Brophy chapel served as the parish until 1959.

The building's significance derives from this Southwestern Regional architecture.
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