Juneau's Shrine of Saint Therese

The Shrine of Saint Therese in Juneau is a chapel built upon a "tidal island", which means it naturally is connected to the mainland at low tide but is an island at high tide.  The cornerstone was laid October 30, 1938.  Bishop Burns recently described the initial construction as:

High tides and severe winter storms created many difficulties for the construction of the 400-foot causeway connecting the island with the mainland. Construction of the chapel proved difficult as well. The original intention was to build it out of logs, but for two years in a row the logs for the project, which had boomed up and floated down Lynn Canal, were lost to storms. However, there was no shortage of cobble stones on the nearby beaches, and when stonemason D.P. “Doc” Holden providentially arrived in Juneau and expertly constructed the fireplace at the lodge, he was taken on for the construction of the church, the bell tower and the 14 Stations of the Cross around the chapel.

Building special chapels on tidal islands is a very old tradition, and some of the most fascinating buildings in the world are built on the special landscape that a tidal island provides.