In the middle of Iowa farmland, where the horizon is generally allowed to remain a horizon, there is a wall of glittering stone. It contains colored glass, petrified wood, concrete, crystals, geodes, and enough religious imagery to make ordinary architecture look like it has stopped trying. This is the Grotto of the Redemption, in West Bend, Iowa. It was built over decades by a priest named Father Paul Matthias Dobberstein, with help from other people who carried the work forward. The Grotto is a religious shrine, a folk-art landmark, a geological collection, and a reminder that one person with a long enough attention span can change the appearance of an entire town. I am Lenny Voss. This is Strange America.
In this episode:
• The Iowa Grotto Built One Stone at a Time
Sources & further reading:
• History of The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption: https://www.westbendgrotto.com/history/
