Shows and Attractions Found on Our Tours

Unlike The U.S. Army's West Point or The U.S. Navy's Annapolis, which are steeped with history and traditional building designs, The United States Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs is notable for its use of modern architecture. Many of the Colorado Air Force Academy buildings employ aluminum on the exteriors, and as a structural element. The result of this modernist construction and design fits well with the aviation school, since aircraft and spacecraft also have aluminum exteriors and construction. Perhaps no place on the Air Force Academy campus is modern architecture more evident than the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. Completed in 1962, the Chapel was at the center of controversy because of its design, though today it is viewed as a classic example of modernist architecture. Constructed of 17 aluminum spires soaring 150 feet high, the chapel was designed to serve the religious needs of all of the cadets. The main level houses a multi-denominational protestant chapel, which accommodates up to 1,300 people. The lower level of the chapel houses the catholic chapel which seats 500, the Jewish chapel which seats 100, and "all-faiths" rooms for the needs of smaller religious groups. Prior to visiting the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, we'll spend a few minutes at the Barry Goldwater Visitors Center learning about the chapel and other interesting facts about the Academy.