Inside the Dome

A couple of weeks ago, two of my friends and I made plans to go to the open house at St. Francis Seminary, which was today. The building dates from 1855, and while it’s been updated over the years, many of the features, such as the gorgeous central staircase that goes up to all 5 floors, are still there. We saw beautiful artwork, given to the seminary as a gift from King Ludwig of Bavaria, the beautiful library located on the grounds, & the small Christ the King Church with its beautiful stained glass windows, designed and made by Marie Herndl, whose stained glass work was shown at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition (also known as the Worlds Fair) in Chicago. Of all the things we saw, the dome was my favorite! It sits atop the 5th floor, and I loved how it was painted! You can still go up into the very top of the dome, via the spiral staircase, although it was off limits today. The space around the spiral staircase is set up as a sitting/study room, with fabulous views of the surrounding area! We left there and went out to eat, where we sat and talked for 3 1/2 hours! A really fun day!!