{"nrhp_refnum":"00000883","name":"Rothko Chapel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1409 Sul Ross Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.737690452000038,"lon":-95.39628204199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story buff-rose brick chapel on an octagon-in-Greek-cross plan at 1409 Sul Ross Avenue, Houston, Texas, completed in 1971. It holds 14 paintings by Mark Rothko, and its grounds include a reflecting pool and Barnett Newman's steel sculpture Broken Obelisk.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the chapel is of exceptional national importance in Art as Mark Rothko's final work and the only permanent installation made to his specifications. It also qualifies in Architecture as a collaboration between Rothko and architects Philip Johnson, Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry. At the local level it is significant in Social History for its ties to patrons Dominique and John de Menil and its role in ecumenical dialogue and human rights advocacy.","narrative":"Rothko Chapel is a windowless, buff-rose brick building in Houston, Texas, completed in 1971 and laid out as an octagon inscribed in a Greek cross. Inside are 14 large paintings made by Mark Rothko specifically for the space, arranged in triptychs and single panels under a central skylight. Outside, a reflecting pool holds Barnett Newman's Cor-ten steel sculpture Broken Obelisk, dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. The design passed from architect Philip Johnson to Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry after Johnson withdrew in 1967. Patrons Dominique and John de Menil commissioned the project, which began as a Catholic chapel for the University of St. Thomas and became a place for ecumenical exchange. It was listed because it is the only permanent installation made to Rothko's specifications, because it reflects the work of notable architects, and because of its link to the de Menils and to human rights and interfaith programs.","period_of_significance":"1971","architect_builder":"Johnson, Philip; Barnstone, Howard; Aubry, Eugene (architects); Lowry, E. G., Construction Company (builder); Rothko, Mark (painter)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/New Formalist","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Largely unchanged since the early 1970s and described as retaining a high degree of integrity; still used as a cultural institution.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.090002-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/9723/40972352/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/00000883.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000883/1e63555069-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000883/1e63555069-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rothko_chapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rothko_chapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972352","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothko_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2956755"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/rothko-chapel-00000883/"}