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The Cooper family probably did more to turn northwest Arkansas into a retirement hub for the U.S. than just about anyone else. They bought the land that would become Bella Vista, and turned it into a small town with 500 miles of winding, forested streets and more mid-priced, hillside homes than you can shake a lumber yard full of sticks at. My dad built hundreds of 'em for the Coopers in the '70s, and the place is still growing today.
Somewhere along the way, a memorial chapel overlooking Beaver Lake was built for Mildred Cooper. I've lived in the area most of my life, and I'd never been there before Labor Day, 2004. The wife and I headed out there, took some pictures, and wandered the paved walking trails.
Designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, the chapel is amazing. I've never been in a building so small that felt so positively huge. It's all gleaming glass and metal, and yet it's positioned and landscaped in such a way that it appears to grow right up out of the woods that surround it.
On a side-note, I hear my cousin is getting married in the chapel soon. It probably makes a pretty cool spot for a wedding.
I was playing with my camera, and subsequently ruined a number of otherwise promising shots. What you see here is all I could salvage.
09-08-2004 03:47:45AM - Permalink - Comment [2] - Trackback
category: General
related topics: (Bella Vista) (Cooper) (memorial) (chapel)
