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    Back to Design and Architecture

    Design and Architecture

    Crystal Cathedral’s resurrection; billboards on the Sunset Strip

    When Philip Johnson built the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove for televangelist Robert Schuller in 1980 it was called "the largest glass building in the world."

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    By Frances Anderton • Jul 9, 2019 • 28m Listen

    When Philip Johnson built the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove for televangelist Robert Schuller in 1980 it was called "the largest glass building in the world." Now it’s the new home for Orange County's Catholics, renamed Christ Cathedral, and architects Johnson Fain have dialed down the sunlight with a bold screen of “quatrefoils.”

    And, the City of West Hollywood is in the midst of creating digital billboards that are visually appealing without offending residents. We'll hear about how they plan to achieve that, and we'll go back to the late 1960s, when rock ‘n’ roll billboards ruled the Sunset Strip, and hear about a billboard-related mystery that went unsolved for decades.

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:34

      Philip Johnson’s all-glass Crystal Cathedral, born again as Christ Cathedral, lets in less light

      Famed televangelist Robert Schuller got his start preaching at a drive-in theatre and went on to build himself an all-glass church in Garden Grove designed by powerful New York architect Philip Johnson.

      Read the story
      9 min
    2. 9:00

      'Spectacular' digital billboards coming to the Sunset Strip

      Can digital billboards be beautiful? Or are they a blight on the urban landscape?

      Read the story
      12 min
    3. 21:24

      How Paul McCartney’s missing head from Abbey Road billboard made Sunset Strip history

      In the fall, Beatles fans will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road, released on September 26, 1969.

      Read the story
      7 min
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Avishay Artsy

      Producer, DnA: Design and Architecture

      CultureDesignArts

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:349 min

      Philip Johnson’s all-glass Crystal Cathedral, born again as Christ Cathedral, lets in less light

    2. 9:0012 min

      'Spectacular' digital billboards coming to the Sunset Strip

    3. 21:247 min

      How Paul McCartney’s missing head from Abbey Road billboard made Sunset Strip history

    Back to Design and Architecture