The glass pulpit — once cradled alongside a cascade of historic bronze bells and below the crested siltcast ceilings of the University of Arizona chapel designed by iconic architect Paolo Soleri — has already been taken away.
Now, historic preservation advocates and state and local leaders across Arizona are in a race to stop the university’s plans to dismantle what’s left of Soleri’s creations in Tucson. They launched a campaign to: “Help us #SaveSoleriChapel – Preserve the Past for the Future.”
They also are saying university officials ignored state preservation laws that may protect the chapel — a timeless Tucson testament to one of the few places in the world, outside of Arcosanti and Cosanti, where Soleri’s siltcast designs can be seen.
Soleri was inspired to design the sacred respite at the University of Arizona Cancer Center after his wife Colly died of the disease in 1982.
The Arizona Preservation Foundation has issued an alert status that the UA-based Tucson chapel is a “threatened” historic site. Some community members argue that university leaders did not consult on their plans to dismantle the chapel with the Arizona Historic Preservation Office, which is mandated under state laws to review and comment on any plans by a state agency that involves property that is or may qualify for inclusion on the Arizona register of historic places.
An image of the desert chapel sits in the first slot of the foundation’s website for historic places that could soon be destroyed without a swift call to action. Alerts spotlight 16 at-risk Arizona properties in addition to the chapel, including the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel in Flagstaff, Osterman Gas Station in Peach Springs and American Legion Post #1 in Phoenix.
On Dec. 8, amid soaring concern, the Soleri-designed chapel was “named one of the most endangered historic places in Arizona,” according to the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation. On that same day, an Arizona Luminaria reporter toured the shuttered chapel and saw that while Soleri’s creations remain intact, much of the site has been gutted.
Across the world, many historic chapels, especially ones born by the dreams of renowned artists, live on past their creators as sacred public spaces for healing. In Tucson, the public is barred from Soleri’s chapel.
The thrum of a bright yellow helicopter roars above the Banner-University Medical Center on Campbell Avenue. Only a few feet away, no amount of noise stirs the silence, an homage to an end or remission, that envelops the chapel at the UA cancer center. Through dull gray doors, past a generic brick exterior and beyond a concrete awning, the building feels lonely in the rare chill of a winter desert breeze.
Inside, beyond two sets of badge-only-access doors is a quiet space for solace. The building is virtually inaccessible to most people on the public college campus. Yet, Soleri’s chapel itself has no doors. Here, you were safe to bear witness to cancer.
The chapel ceiling lives on as art — an abstract visual. Sage-hued vegetation on a soft blue background. A stripe runs down the ceiling’s center along the wall opposite the entrance, turning into a stem of the room’s centerpieces — a giant potted desert plant. Its sister centerpiece on the adjacent wall is nestled in its own nook — a floor-length chandelier of oxidized Soleri bells that seem ready to ring without wind.
Multiple sources told Arizona Luminaria that Soleri’s creations would be dismantled from the chapel and parsed out to the UA’s Andrew Weil center and other takers. They said that a collaborative discussion with concerned community members, the Arizona Historic Preservation Office and UA President Robert Robbins is a key to stopping further destruction before it’s too late.
UA renderings provided to Arizona Luminaria show the wedge where Soleri’s bells from the chapel would be moved to hang inside a cramped concrete-sided corner at the Weil center.
Arizona Luminaria asked Robbins and university spokesperson Pam Scott multiple questions about the destruction of Soleri’s chapel. Scott said that the university is working on a response. After receiving further reports on Dec. 8 about the university already dismantling Soleri’s chapel, an Arizona Luminaria reporter asked the university for confirmation.
“I do not believe that is true,” Scott said in a Dec. 8 email.
Community stakeholders want the state preservation office to review and maintain oversight of any UA plans to disturb the site. Some have suggested an alternative to demolition and harvesting the historic Soleri building for parts: Move the entire chapel to another public location such as the college’s recently announced new art museum.
Tucson preservationists acted as soon as they got wind of the university’s plans to dismantle Soleri’s chapel. They issued a call in the fall to inform local and state leaders that the chapel could soon be destroyed.
An impassioned response followed.
“In 2018, I had the privilege of visiting this remarkable space. This meditative chapel isn’t just a testament to human creativity; it’s a tribute to the genius of Paolo Soleri, an innovative and visionary architect of international stature,” Christopher Mathis, a state lawmaker representing Arizona’s Legislative District 18, wrote in an October letter. “The University of Arizona’s decision to commission this masterpiece and unwavering dedication to its preservation over the past four decades stands as a testament to the importance it holds in our state’s cultural heritage.”
Mathis addressed the letter to Robbins, including Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office, the board of regents, Kathyrn Leonard, Arizona’s historic preservation officer, Mayor Regina Romero and Adelita Grijalva, chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
Matt Heinz, a Pima County Supervisor, Tucson doctor and former state lawmaker, is among many prominent Arizona leaders who wrote an October letter to Robbins and regents chair Fred DuVal, copying other state officials. He urged UA leaders to meet with stakeholders and cease any plans to gut Soleri’s chapel.
“I sent a letter telling them not to do that,” Heinz said in a Dec. 8 interview with Arizona Luminaria.
Heinz said that following the October letter-writing campaign, he was among concerned community members who received a response from university leaders that they would pause plans to dismantle the chapel to further research the issue. However, Heinz said, he has not heard back from university leaders about plans to preserve the Soleri chapel.
Heinz said he remains eager to discuss the issue and collaborate with university leaders and historic preservationists to address concerns that more can be done to prevent the destruction of Soleri’s chapel. He said state laws require local officials to seek an opinion from the Arizona Historic Preservation Office before destroying cultural sites.
“There is a process in place, specifically in our state laws, to prevent” places of these kinds with historic significance from evading legal preservation, Heinz said.
Mathis wrote that he was alarmed that the university planned to “bring about structural changes to the chapel, involving the complete removal of elements and their integration into a new building.”
“I believe this proposed course of action not only threatens to undermine the historical and architectural essence of this state-owned asset but risks substantially eroding its spiritual significance,” he said.
Mathis also called on Robbins for a meeting to talk about preserving Soleri’s chapel.
“I’m confident that through such a discourse, alternative solutions can be explored which will respect the chapel’s rich heritage, maintain the sanctity of its space, and pay homage to the enduring architectural legacy of our great state,” he wrote.
Rep. Betty Villegas, a state lawmaker representing Legislative District 20, also wrote a letter appealing to Robbins and the Arizona Board of Regents to meet with community stakeholders and preserve the chapel.
“The Chapel at the University of Arizona Cancer Center is an outstanding example of the remarkable work of the renowned architect Paolo Soleri. As a cancer survivor, I believe many others, like me, consider this chapel a symbol of hope, peace, and comfort,” she wrote. “The chapel also holds immense cultural and architectural value as it embodies Soleri’s innovative concepts and philosophical contributions to the preservation field. The proposed plan involves removing pieces from the chapel and incorporating them into a new building, which poses a threat to the historical, architectural, and spiritual essence of this state-owned asset. It is disheartening to see places of significance to the community being destroyed, especially when there are so many other ways to preserve and honor our shared history.”
Villegas urged community discussions to avoid destruction of the Soleri chapel.
“Through such dialogue, alternative solutions can be found that will respect the chapel’s rich heritage, maintain the integrity of the space, and honor the architectural legacy of our state,” she wrote. “Such an effort would serve as a testament to responsible preservation and the lasting legacy of a visionary whose work has left an indelible mark on Arizona and the world.”
Soleri was a visionary Italian architect who designed Arcosanti as a post-consumerism community rooted in Arizona’s high desert as a symbol of environmentalism, countering the suburban sprawl synonymous with metro Phoenix. He died in 2013 at Cosanti, his home in Paradise Valley. He was 93.
Soleri’s legacy also now includes his daughter’s allegations in 2017, four years after his death, that her father had sexually abused her. “His work deserves recognition. But I believe its value should never negate his faults,” Daniela Soleri told the Guardian.
At the Tucson chapel today, Soleri’s skyward desert tiles and bronze bells remain intact. For now.
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