The talk examines the genesis, popularity, and decline of the ubiquitous A-frame church, from early camp chapels to the omnipresent, laminated truss, suburban structures used by virtually all major American religious denominations. The successful match between the A-frame church and the aspirations of suburban congregations indicates its special correspondence with suburban religious culture. In short, the A-frame balanced the tensions suburbanites navigated—religious, economic, and symbolic. It looked “like a church” while signaling a contemporary spirit.