Curtis was an architecture major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He particularly loved Romanesque design and wanted to establish a revival of that style. In a recent design analysis paper, he chose the St. John’s Cathedral in his own city to serve as his subject. He had always loved the Cathedral and though he isn’t catholic, he has visited it many times and has even attended a mass. Just driving by the building always gave him both a sense of peace and inspiration. Part of him was strongly drawn to designing sacred buildings though he was equally pulled to the arts community and loved the idea of building a grand theatre or opera in a neo-Romanesque style.

The Cathedral is listed on the National Registry of Historic Properties and attracts numerous tourists who are staying in one of the Lafayette hotels. Curtis imagined the day that that tourist would want to visit a building that he had designed. While he definitely worked hard and studied almost non-stop, Curtis also had a strong sense of confidence and a tremendous capacity to fantasize about the great things he would accomplish.

However, he was focused and realistic in his approach to the paper he was writing about St. John’s Cathedral. It was built in 1916 and was the third church to be constructed on the land, which had been donated by Jean Mouton in 1821. In his paper he would focus on the turrets that flanked the octagonal steeple. He also loved the contrast between the graceful curves of the arches and the sturdy brick from which the church was made. As with everything else, Curtis continued to make mental notes about what might be incorporated into his masterpiece opera design and this paper was no different. I imagined a sturdy brick or stone building though it had to be laced with gentle arches and he somehow had to do a variation on a steeple.