Docomomo US chapters, friend groups, and partners organized over 35 unique tours and events across the country for Tour Day 2025 - the most tours we have had in recent years!
Many tours focused on the annual theme of Places of Worship. Docomomo US chapters and partners organized tours to local and sometimes hard-to-get-into gems, including the Mount Angel Abbey, a Benedictine monastery south of Portland, OR, with a library by Alvar Aalto, two churches by Charles Stade in the Chicago suburbs, five exceptional sacred spaces in Las Vegas, and the Docomomo US/Minnesota chapter went above and beyond, organizing a full month of programming around the theme.
We would especially like to thank the many sacred spaces that opened their doors for Tour Day participants, include St. Peter's in New York City, Fish Church in Stamford, CT, Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA, and the Cedar Lane Universal Unitarian Church in Bethesda, MD.
We also had many "returning" tours lead by partners that we are happy to work with year after year to provide access to some amazing Modern sites, including Schweikher House, Histoury, Beinecke Library, Yamasaki in Detroit, Modernism Week, and Midcentury Modern Midland, among others.
Thank you again to all of the host organizations and tour leaders who participated and made this another great Tour Day! Continue reading for some highlights from this year's events.
Cedar Lane Past, Present, and Future
On October 24, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation and Rentals at Cedar Lane hosted a one-of-a-kind architectural tour celebrating the rich history and renewed vitality of their 6+ acre campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Speakers Mary Means and Gwen Wright guided more than 30 participants through Montgomery County’s mid-century modern legacy, exploring the planning, preservation, and loss of significant buildings across the region.
The tour then focused on Cedar Lane’s own transformation since its original construction in 1958. Guests moved through the building to experience the original architectural vision, the challenges and successes of its renovation, and the beautifully revitalized spaces that now support our growing venue rentals program for the broader DMV. Over cocktails and appetizers, participants viewed archival materials, including original designs, historic photos, architectural drawings and awards, and original furnishings — offering a powerful window into the building’s past and present.
Docomomo US/Chicago Tour Day Events
The Chicago chapter hosted two events for Tour Day, "Virtual: Chicagoland Modern Houses of Worship," and "Suburban Sacred Spaces: Des Plaines."
The virtual presentation explored ten different modern houses of worship throughout the Chicagoland region. The in-person tour in suburban Des Plaines included two modern churches designed by noted religious architect Charles Stade, and an elaborate 1972 cemetery building by Harley Ellis Devereaux, a Detroit firm that specialized in mausoleum design. The high point of the tour was a visit to a 1959 convent designed for a community of religious sisters. Although the sisters are cloistered and limit interaction with the outside world, their invitation to visit several rooms in the convent offered a moving and otherworldly experience.
Special thanks to Bob from Immanuel Lutheran for a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of every last inch of the church, and especially to the Carmelite sisters for their generosity and kindness.
Docomomo US/MN and Twin Cities Sacred Spaces
