The Architect's Daughter at First United Methodist – Boulder, Colorado - Atlas Obscura

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The Architect's Daughter at First United Methodist

When this 160-year-old church was being built, a stonemason included a hidden homage to his late daughter. 

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A local legend surrounds this church, constructed in 1891 in Boulder, Colorado. It is said that one of the stonemasons working the church suffered a terrible loss, when his young daughter Lula died before the completion of the church. Grief-stricken, he included a memorial to his late daughter, tucked away on the north side of one of the entryways to the church.

As part of the stonework on the church, he carved an “angel face” as a memorial to Lula. The face of a young girl can be seen carved into the stone, though her features have eroded over time. The same part of the other entryways of the church do not contain carvings of human faces, but instead feature carvings of leaves.

To find the carving of the architect’s daughter, go to the West side of the church and find the doorway closest to the north side of the church. The carving is facing north, right above a basement entrance to the church and on the north side of the northwest door’s stone archway.

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July 23, 2021

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