300 N. Broadway, West Bend, Iowa. County/parish: Palo Alto.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places February 23, 2001. NRIS 00001679.
1 contributing building. 1 contributing structure.
The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, it contains a large collection of minerals and petrifications and is believed to be the largest grotto in the world.
It is also "considered to be the world's most complete man-made collection of minerals, fossils, shells, and petrifications in one place." The estimated value of the rocks and minerals which make up the Grotto is over $4,308,000. Over 100,000 people visit each year.
It includes a museum with precious and semiprecious stones from throughout the world, and photos and artifacts about the construction of the shrine.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75339702