The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi features two towering, unfinished Romanesque spires that break the skyline of low-slung, earthen-toned adobe buildings. Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy commissioned this stone structure in eighteen sixty-nine to replace the crumbling adobe parish church of Saint Francis. Lamy brought in French stonemasons who carved golden sandstone from the nearby foothills. When the budget dried up before the spires could reach their planned height, construction halted, leaving the facade with its distinct, truncated silhouette today.