Rothko Chapel

Rothko Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Texas Show map of the United States
Location	3900 Yupon Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°44′15″N 95°23′46″W / 29.73750°N 95.39611°W / 29.73750; -95.39611
Area	less than one acre
Built	1971
Architect	Rothko, Mark; Johnson, Philip, et al. Renovation (2020) by Architecture Research Office.
Architectural style	Modern Movement, New Formalist
NRHP reference No.	00000883 [1]
Added to NRHP	August 16, 2000

The Rothko Chapel is a non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its walls are fourteen paintings by Mark Rothko in varying hues of black. The shape of the building—an octagon inscribed in a Greek cross—and the design of the chapel were largely influenced by the artist. The chapel sits two miles southwest of downtown in the Montrose neighborhood, situated between the building housing the Menil Collection and the Chapel of Saint Basil on the campus of the University of Saint Thomas. About 110,000 people visit the chapel each year.^[2]

Susan J. Barnes states "The Rothko Chapel ... became the world's first broadly ecumenical center, a holy place open to all religions and belonging to none. It became a center for international cultural, religious, and philosophical exchanges, for colloquia and performances. And it became a place of private prayer for individuals of all faiths".^[3]

On September 16, 2000, the Rothko Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.