The Holy City of the Wichita Mountains is located in southwestern Oklahoma in Comanche County inside the Wichita Mountains Nat'l Wildlife Refuge just off the northwest corner of Ft. Sill Military Reservation.
This fascinating area was and is the "love child" of Austrian-born Reverend Anthony Wallock who, after leading a field trip into these mountains in the early 1920's, decided that the surrounding area would be perfect for staging an Easter passion play. That dream was realized in 1926 when the first The Prince of Peace production drew a crowd of about 6,000.
By 1934, the play had a cast of 1,200 including an a capella choir and 40,000 worshipers. A $94,000 Federal grant and the efforts of the WPA eventually produced 22 granite buildings on 110 acres including the "Garden of Gethsemane", the "Lord's Supper" building and "Calvary's Mount".
The interior of the World Chapel features murals, religious wood carvings and a ceiling painted with "life-sized" angels.