Project Restore: All Saints Church
The Word on the Street

Words do mean something!

Stuart, Ia. -- April 29, 1999
So what's the difference? When you're told that a building will be surmounted by a dome, your expectation would be to see an impressive hemispherical structure capping off an equally outstanding building. Domes have been built in different shapes throughout the ages but anytime a building has a dome it is something that captures the imagination.

A few beautiful and famous domes that come to mind are:

• Saint Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church, located in the eternal city of Rome.
• The Pantheon of the Saints, also located in the eternal city of Rome. The Pantheon once served as a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods.
• The structure All Saints in Stuart was modeled after the spectacular St. Marks in Venice.
• Hagia Sophia, built during the splendor of the Byzantine empire in the city of Constantinople, now modern day Istanbul.
• The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem built on the Temple Mount.
• Sacre-Coeur a beautiful church of romano-byzantine design over looking the city of Paris.
• St. Paul's Cathedral in London designed by Christopher Wren and the onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

All of these buildings have what can be defined as a dome. What architects touted as a dome on the new All Saints Church is not a dome but a cupola. A cupola is defined as a small structure built on top of a roof. The cupola on the new church building is constructed of fiberglass and does give a needed dimension to the roof of the building.

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