Asheville's Domed Churches

Completed in 1909, the Basilica of St. Lawrence D.M. is one of Asheville's architectural treasures and spiritual anchors. It was designed by Rafael Gustavino and Richard Sharpe Smith, renowned architects on the Biltmore House.

The style is Spanish Renaissance.

The central figure on the main façade is that of St. Lawrence holding in one hand a palm frond and in the other agridiron, the instrument of his torture.

Just under the vault of the dome is a frieze of ten semi-circular windows, representing ten different scenes, including The Annunciation, The Agony in the Garden, and the appearance of the Risen Savior to Mary Magdalene.

From the foot of the main aisle, inside the church proper, one can realize the beauty of the ellipse and the wonder of the dome.

It has a clear span of 58 x 82 feet and is reputed to be the largest freestanding elliptical dome in North America.

The next point of focus, at the head of the center aisle, is the main altar and the Crucifixion tableaux above. This group is rare and fine example of Spanish wood carving of the middle seventeenth century and represents Mary and St. John at the Crucifixion (romanticasheville.com/basilica).

The second church we visited was first observed from several blocks away. Admittedly, it was the shape and color of the domed roof that prompted a closer inspection.

When it was dedicated on March 6, 1927, the First Baptist Church embodied the distinctive style of its architect, Douglas Ellington, who incorporated traditional Beaux-Arts planning, the stark forms of early Christian church architecture, and fashionably modern Art Deco details in the new church.

This wonderfully elegant building is an unusual combination of an Early Italian Renaissance form and color scheme arranged in a beaux arts plan with Art Deco detailing.

Of particular interest is the Art Deco copper lantern atop the dome

and the subtle gradation of color in the roofing tiles. The walls are an effective combination of orange bricks, terra-cotta moldings and pink marble.

Before taking these final two photos, I listened to a vocalist and organist rehearsing. The sound of her voice and the soft sounds of the organ enhanced the peaceful, contemplative quality of the church.