Brophy College Chapel

Brophy College Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	4701 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates	33°30′18″N 112°4′19″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1928
Architect	Lescher & Mahoney; E. J. Wasielewski
Architectural style	Mission/Spanish Revival
MPS	Religious Architecture in Phoenix MPS
NRHP reference No.	93000747
Added to NRHP	August 10, 1993

Brophy College Chapel is a chapel at Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit high school in Phoenix, Arizona. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

History and architecture

The building was constructed in 1928 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. The chapel is a two and a half tall square building measuring 100x100 feet. Pilasters divide the building into vertical bays. It was designed by Lescher & Mahoney, architects who designed several other NRHP-listed buildings in Phoenix.

Situated along Phoenix's Central Avenue in mid-town, the bell tower of the chapel, which is 135 feet (41 m) tall and topped with a dome and cross, is the focal point of the campus and serves as Brophy's logo.

Interior architecture

The building's altar is pink tufa, quarried near Wickenburg, designed in a Mexican baroque style. A painting of the Holy Family by an unknown Italian artist of the 15th century is framed above. Inside the sacristy, a 1670 crucifix from the Monk's Cemetery at Evaux in France is hung.

Local blacksmiths built 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 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 was the second parish established in Phoenix. The Brophy chapel served the parish until 1959.

References

• The NRHP nomination form (not available through NPS Focus)

External links

• Official website