By which other name is the 'Church by the Sea' at Madeira, Florida known as?
The Chicken Church is another name for the 'Church By The Sea'. It's located at Madeira Beach, Tampa Bay, Florida. A central feature of this church is the Spanish-style tower with circular windows and a 25-foot mast and beacon, (making it the tallest local structure at the time it was built). The light atop the church tower, which has since been replaced with a lighted cross, served as a nautical landmark to guide boats safely home. It also served to illuminate the tower’s unintended feature: that it happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.
With two porthole windows that look like eyes set just above four small red tile awnings that look like a beak, two wings, and a tail, the architecture of the nondenominational church in the city of Madeira Beach uncannily resembles a cartoon chicken.
Today the nondenominational church remains a landmark and a hub of community life. A series of impressive stained glass windows blend religious iconography with images of the ocean and seabirds. And while the congregation may seek to downplay the tower’s resemblance to a chicken, no one can argue that it brings people out to visit the church.
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