The Western facade, including the Rose Window

Western entrance on Amsterdam Avenue

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 1011 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, front. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 1011 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, front. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 401 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, west entrance. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x1600, 401 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, west entrance. ... Tenth Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. ... The Episcopal Diocese of New York is in Province II of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ...

Located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 110th Street, which is also known as "Cathedral Parkway", and 113 Street) in Manhattan's Morningside Heights, the cathedral, a tourist attraction, is, though unfinished, the largest cathedral in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World's Records (neither St Peter's in Rome nor Notre-Dame de la Paix in Yamoussoukro—both significantly larger than St. John the Divine—is a cathedral). Tenth Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. ... 110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Morningside Heights is a neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City and is bound by the Upper West Side, Morningside Park, Harlem, and Riverside Park (some now consider it part of the Upper West Side). ... A cathedral is a religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican and some Lutheran churches, which serves as a bishops seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ... This article is about the famous building in Rome. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Basilica of Our Lady of Peace // The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, also known as Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro, is a Roman Catholic church in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

An unbroken piece of property of 11.5 acres (47,000 m²), on which the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum had stood, was purchased for the cathedral in 1887, and after an open competition a design by the New York firm of George Lewis Heins and John LaFarge in a Byzantine-Romanesque style was accepted the next year. An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ... The Leake and Watts Childrens Home is an orphanage in New York City. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... The New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge, composed of Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins (1860–1907) and Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), who was the eldest son of the artist John LaFarge, famous especially for his stained glass panels, were responsible most notably for the original Romanesque... Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. ... Romanesque St. ...

Construction

Construction on the cathedral was begun with the laying of the corner-stone on December 27, 1892, St. John's Day. The foundations were completed at enormous expense, largely because bedrock was not struck until the excavation had reached 72 feet. The first services (in the crypt, under the crossing) were held in 1899. December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the Earths surface. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

View from the north showing unfinished crossing

The original Byzantine-Romanesque design was changed to a French Gothic design after the large central dome made of Guastavino tile was completed in 1909, so that while the nave and apse are both rendered in the Gothic style, the crossing under the dome is still Romanesque. The architect Heins' premature death in 1907 left the Trustees unsure of how to proceed with the artist Lafarge alone. In 1911, the choir and the crossing were opened. At some point, the dome and crossing are intended to be taken down and a massive Gothic tower is to be erected. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 393 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 393 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral. ... Cathedral floor plan (crossing is shaded) A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, refers to the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ... Guastavino tile work in NYC City Hall subway station Guastavino tile refers to the Tile Arch System patented in the US in 1885 by Catalan architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). ... Cathedral floor plan (crossing is shaded) A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, refers to the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The first stone of the nave was laid and the west front was undertaken in 1925. The first services in the nave were held the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Subsequently construction on the cathedral was halted, because the then-bishop felt that the church's funds would better be spent on works of charity, and because America's subsequent involvement with the Second World War greatly limited available manpower. The Very Rev. James Parks Morton, who became Dean of the Cathedral in 1972, encouraged a revival in the construction of the Cathedral, and in 1979 the Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr., then Bishop, decided that construction should be continued, in part to preserve the crafts of stonemasonry by training neighborhood youths, thus providing them with a valuable skill. In 1979, Mayor Ed Koch quipped during the dedication ceremony, "I am told that some of the great cathedrals took over five hundred years to build. But I would like to remind you that we are only in our first hundred years." 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A cathedral is a religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican and some Lutheran churches, which serves as a bishops seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... The Right Reverend Paul Moore, Jr. ... The art and craft of the stonemason has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures and sculpture using stone and other raw materials from the earth. ... For a list of the Dutch Director-Generals who governed New Amsterdam (as New York City was called when it was a Dutch-run settlement) between 1624 and 1664, see: Director-General of New Netherland. ... Edward Irving Koch (born December 12, 1924; pronounced to rhyme with scotch) was a United States Representative from 1969 to 1977 and the Mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. ...

Construction on the towers continued in fits and starts until the early 1990s, when a lack of funds forced its abandonment, the Cathedral having largely spent its endowment. Unused - and largely rusted - scaffolding has been covering the south tower ever since. For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

Under master stone carvers Simon Verity and Jean Claude Marchionni, work on the statuary of the central portal of the Cathedral's western façade was completed in 1997. The Cathedral has since seen no further construction, and the new generation of trained stonecarvers has gone on to other projects.

Description of the cathedral

Altar

The building as it appears today conforms primarily to a second design campaign from the prolific Gothic Revival architect Ralph Adams Cram of the Boston firm Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson. Without slavishly copying any one historical model, and without compromising its authentic stone-on-stone construction by using modern steel girders, Saint John the Divine is a refined exercise in the 13th century High Gothic style of northern France. The Cathedral is almost exactly two football fields in length (601 feet or 186 meters) and the nave ceiling reaches 124 feet (37.7 meters) high. It is the longest Gothic nave in the world, at 230 feet. Seven chapels radiating from the ambulatory behind the choir are each in a distinctive nationalistic style, some of them borrowing from outside the gothic vocabulary. Known as the "Chapels of the Tongues" (Ansgar, Boniface, Columba, Savior, Martin, Ambrose and James), their designs are meant to represent each of the seven most prominent ethnic groups to first immigrate to New York City upon the opening of Ellis Island in 1892 (the same year the Cathedral began construction). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 1875 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 1875 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ... Cover of Time Magazine (December 13, 1926) Ralph Adams Cram, (December 16, 1863 - September 22, 1942), was an American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the gothic style. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ... Links to full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are also found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The ambulatory (Med. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ellis Island,at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, was at one time the main immigration port for immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

On the grounds of the Cathedral, toward the south, are several buildings (including a Synod Hall and the Cathedral school), as well as a large bronze work of public art by the Cathedral's sculptor-in-residence, Greg Wyatt, known as the Peace Fountain, which has been both strongly praised and strongly criticized. Close-up of the Peace Fountain The Peace Fountain is located next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on Manhattans Upper West Side. ...

Scaffolding covering the south tower in 2005

On the night of December 18, 2001, a fire swept through the unfinished north transept, destroying the gift shop and for a time threatening the sanctuary of the cathedral itself. It temporarily silenced the Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. Although the organ was not damaged, its pipe chambers had to be removed and laboriously cleaned, to prevent damage from the fire's accumulated soot. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 409 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, South tower. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 409 KB) Saint John the Divine, cathedral, South tower. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // The pipe organ (Greek ὄργανον, órganon) is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air through a series of pipes. ...

In 2003, the Cathedral was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, however, shortly thereafter the designation was unanimously overturned by the New York City Council, which favored landmark status for the cathedral entire grounds, rather than just the building. However, no move to designate the entire grounds has formed. Thus, the cathedral is not officially a New York City landmark at this time. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering New Yorks Landmarks Preservation Law. ... New York City Hall The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. ...

In January 2005, the Cathedral began a massive restoration that will remain in progress until the Fall of 2007. A state-of-the-art chemical-based cleaning system is being utilized, primarily to remove smoke damage resulting from the 2001 fire. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

The Cathedral houses one of the nation's premiere textile conservation laboratories to conserve the Cathedral's textiles, including works designed by Raphael. The Laboratory also conserves tapestries, needlepoint, upholstery, costumes, and other textiles for its clients. For other uses of lab, see Lab. ... Conservation is the profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future. ... Raphael or Raffaello (April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520) was an Italian master painter and architect of the Florentine school in High Renaissance, celebrated for the perfection and grace of his paintings. ...

In early November 2006, vandals beheaded a statue of George Washington near the high altar of the Cathedral and left a dollar bill on what was left of the neck. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and was later elected the first president of the United States under the U.S. Constitution. ...

Activities at the cathedral

The cathedral is a major center for musical performances in New York. Paul Winter has given many concerts there. Paul Winters Greatest Hits (1998) Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American saxophonist (alto and soprano saxophone). ...

References

• Cathedral of Saint John the Divine at nyc-architecture.com
• General history of St John the Divine.

External links

• The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
• Specifications of the Aeolian-Skinner Great Organ, temporarily silenced since the North Transept fire of Dec 18, 2001.
• Divine Service rated and reviewed.
• Satellite Photo of Saint John the Divine
• "St. John the Unfinished" nickname from word researcher Barry Popik.
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.803569° -73.961718°
  • Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth