Last week we took a day and headed south to Keuka Lake to see an architectural marvel. Located at Bluff Point on a peninsula between the eastern and western arms of the lake, the Garrett Memorial Chapel was designed by Mortimer Friedhof, with landscape by Jesse DeFrance, in 1930, and dedicated in 1931.
The Chapel is at the first K in Keuka Lake, above.
The Garretts, a wine making family, built the chapel to honor the memory of their son Charles. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, deservedly, and it is an astonishing thing to behold.
After a fast lunch in Penn Yan, we trundled down the back roads of the peninsula along Skyline Drive, which has unmatched views of the lake, hundreds of feet below. As we started down the steep hill toward Bluff Point, there was the chapel, perched on the side of the gradient.
We strolled down the path to the chapel, and peered inside. The building is made of Pennsylvania granite, and features materials from all over the world. Wonder what construction must have been like, here on the side of a hill, in the middle of nowhere, in 1930? Amazing.
But what is truly amazing is the view.
Across the lake is the place where Doug and Marie and their gang spent a week last summer. Not sure exactly where, but over there somewhere.
The views are on the lake side balcony, framed by arches between buttresses.
They still hold Sunday services here, from July 4th to Labor Day. But the biggest events they host now are fundraisers, as they try to keep up with the costs of ongoing preservation. By the look of the place, they aren’t doing too bad – it’s immaculate, and gorgeous, though many projects are visible.
Taking back roads from here, the chapel is about 2 hours away. After circling the chapel and admiring it from all angles, we strolled back up the hill and headed north.
We took the back roads home as well – even a bunch of gravel roads – and got home around dinner time. What a lovely day!
