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Washington National Cathedral

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Washington National Cathedral started With George Washington Dream

George Washington wanted a church for "national purposes", in 1791 this idea was part of plans for the federal City created by Pierre L'Enfant, the main architect of Washington CD.
One century, the separation of church and state prevented the construction of the church. Finally in 1893, American Congress granted the creation of a Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation for "Promotion of religion and education and charity."

The construction started immediately, but it would take a century to build the Washington National Cathedral.

It is a beautiful 518' length with 104' span of Nave Cathedral, it is very hard to get a picture which contains entire cathedral from the ground. My trick, I photograph a post card which was probably taken from a helicopter. It is a beauty, enjoy this view:

Washington Cathedral

The timeless Gothic style of Architecture was chosen for our National Cathedral on purpose to evoke the splendors of God's kingdom.

This Cathedral was build in English Gothic architecture style and has some decorative design from French and Spanish Gothic style architecture.

The Building of the Cathedral

The first step was to find the best place to build the Catherdral. Bishop Satterlee decided that the hilltop of Mount St. Alban is a perfect choice as an elevated position which will make cathedral visible for miles on all directions.

Cathedral map

The second major task was to raise money to start the construction and a government body, called a chapter was created to oversize the construction.

And the most important at all was to acquire a proper design. Only in 1906, the chapter voted to build the cathedral in Gothic style.
The first 2 architects was: an Englishman George Bodley, and a native English who came in states when he was young Henry Vaughan.

In 1907 the plans arrived in States, they was approved by the chapter and on 29th September 1907, the first foundation stone was laid in a festive ceremony, in the presents of President Theodore Roosevelt and over ten thousand American citizens, it was a beautiful moment of national pride.

The construction advanced slowly, the important factors was: manpower, money, the buff limestone quarried from Indiana and transported to Washington by rail.

A lot of money was coming from private contributions.

In 1912 Bethlehem Chapel within Cathedral was finished, dedicated, and the first service was celebrated in the crypt.

Difficult times followed, both architects died, the draftsmen carried out the work until the existing plans were completed and in 1919 the construction stopped.

It was only in 1921 when a new team was assembled: Frohman, Robb, and Little under the leadership of Philip Hubert Frohman who devoted the next 50 years to this project.

The stock marker crash of 1929 and the depression slowed construction but did not stop.

The bishop of Washington James Freeman was able to raise enough money to keep the construction going and the most important to offer jobs to men who might otherwise have been on the government line for food.

The north part was completed as America entered to Word War II.

The construction stopped again because the donor funding diminished.

In 1951, Bishop Dun and the chapter appointed the reverend Francis Sayre as dean of the Cathedral and he consecrated 27 years to oversaw the decorations of the Cathedral.

His successors continued to raise money but was Dean Sayer decision to to build the central tower instead of finishing the nave.

Cathedral map

In 1964 the tower called the Gloria in Excelsis was dedicated and the bells started to ring over the city.

The donors founding increased dramatically and in 1976 the nave was dedicated at services that brought Queen Elisabeth II of England and thousands of other visitors to the Cathedral.

Another stop on construction followed this moment of glory. Under the next bishop of Washington in September 1990, after nearly a century of effort, and faith, Washington National Cathedral was completed and consecrated.

The Cathedral Decorations

The Cathedral has 3 Rose Windows:

In the west the iconography is "the Creation"
In the north "the Last Judgment"
In the south "the Church Triumphant"

The most beautiful is the west Rose window, 25 feet in diameter, contains over 10,500 pieces of glass, designed by Rowan LeCompte:

Cathedral rose window

Gothic volt

The Washington National Cathedral is adorned with beautiful carvings. I pick up just 2 examples but there are thousands of them.

The Ter Sanctus reredos above the High Altar:

high altar

The altar and reredos in Bethlehem Chapel:

Chapel

This is a beautiful tapestry in St. Mary's Chapel which tell the story of David ans Goliath:

St Mary's Chapel

This is a rich Cathedral you must see: carved stones, marble, alabaster, wood, stained glasses, rose windows, wrought iron doors, and gates, a mosaic above the altar, a Rare Book Library (with first edition of the King James Bible and so on), the 10,600 pipes Great Organ with a beautiful sound, the Glastonbury Cathedra ("bishop's chair" fabricated of stones from the ancient Glastonbury Abbey in England), exterior gargoyles, President Lincoln Statue, some tombs of prominent Bishops.
And this is not all, if you happened to be in Washington DC, the National Cathedral is a must see.

The Exterior of the Cathedral

This is my favorite picture, you can see the flying buttressas and the stained glass from outside:

close up

The creedal bosses in the nave vaulting:

close up

A gargoyles:

close up

John and I in front of the cathedral:

close up

Perry plays Organ at WNC

Perry plays the Great Organ at Washington National Cathedral.
Enjoy the music and the beautiful sound of WNC's Organ, it really is a beauty.

The next 3 modules are just music videos played on WNC.

Nicholas White plays at WNC Organ

Nicholas White, former organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge, performs at WNC. Recorded in 1996 on analog equipment & transferred through several media formats over the years, I wish to have a better sound, but all the transition from one media format to another is not a perfect solution.
Enjoy!

My others Gothic Architecture Lenses

I have a set of 3 lenses about Paris Gothic and one about Romanian Heritage Middle Age Architecture.

Vote On My Gothic Architecture Lenses

I have created 4 lenses about Gothic Architecture, I want to know your opinion about them.
This one is about Washington National Cathedral.
You find the other 3 in the previous module.

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