Designed in 1888 however it begun its construction in 1892. Originally the Cathedral was designed in the Byzantine Revival / Romanesque Revival styles, but in 1909 the design changed to a Gothic Revival, the architect for this last style change was done by Ralph Adams Cram of the Boston firm Cram.
Since the Cathedral its still unfinished there some dispute about whether this cathedral or Liverpool Cathedral is the world’s largest Anglican cathedral and church. But without dispute this is the fifth largest Christian church in the world.
It has the longest Gothic nave in the United States, at 230 feet.
The stained glass is the largest rose window in the U.S, built and designed by glass artist Charles Connick, its constructed out of 10,000 pieces of glass.
Below is a photograph of the chapel of Saint Saviour, dedicated to the churches of the east. A fun and interesting fact about this space is that John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (the famous American artist and sculptor that who designed Mount Rushmore in South Dakota) was the sculptor of 20 angels that are placed in the entrance of this chapel.
The fun fact is that Mr. Borglum sculpted feminine angels which caused a lot of controversy in the Church and in the media. The Cathedral decided it was best to stick to the scriptural tradition, and asked Mr. Borglum to make sure his angels looked masculine. The sculptor agreed and destroyed the plaster casts, though preserving the two faces and the hand to take home with him.
In an interview with The New York Times he said “I felt like a murderer,” “I didn’t want anyone to touch them except myself. So I simply broke them to pieces myself. I should hate to tell you how I felt when I did it.”
The cathedral is full of interesting details, from left to right Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Susan B. Anthony, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Above is the Peace Fountain, which is pretty strange, it was designed by Greg Wyattin 1985 . It depicts the Archangel Michael embracing one of nine giraffes after he defeated Satan. I do not understand the meaning or the symbology behind the giraffes, at the bottom there is a plaque that saids “most peaceable of animals.”
There is also a lion lying down with a lamb. The fountain’s spiraling base represents a double-helix of DNA. Above the pedestal rests a giant crab, to remind us of life’s origins in the sea and the struggle to survive.
Then there is a moon facing west. Satan’s head dangles beneath the crab’s claw. It’s a very cool and strange fountain.
