We stand mesmerised by the gargantuan structure before us. It is perhaps the last pure Gothic stone-on-stone construction in the world. The Washington National Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, a National House of Prayer for All People, is the sixth largest cathedral in the world and the second largest in the U.S. The edifice is a scintillating architectural beauty that boasts sculpture, wood carvings, mosaics, over 200 stained glass windows, gargoyles and grotesques of exquisite style.
Several architects have been involved in the conceptualisation, design and construct of the cathedral through a period of hundred years. The final structure took 83 years to complete and was opened on September 29, 1990. Sprawled across 57 acres of land on Mount Stain Albans, 400 ft. above sea level in Northwest Washington, the Cathedral is built of Indiana limestone in the shape of a cross, and displays unique design hitherto not seen anywhere.
Design highlights Its mammoth nave is 100 ft. high and one-tenth of a mile long with two shorter transepts. Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, large windows, flying buttresses and boss stones define the architecture of the edifice. The roof does not rest on the walls. Rather, the weight passes downward along the arches and vaulting, and then on to the piers where it is resisted by the inward thrust of the flying buttresses.
The thin, tall walls allow plenty of room for large windows that are bejewelled with stained glass displaying different motifs. The west façade, also called the front, consists of two towers, a gallery halfway down, a rose window and three huge portals or doorways with a large tympanum carved above each.
Creation on the West Rose Window, with over 10,500 pieces of hand-blown stained glass, was designed by Rowan LeCompte and depicts the creation of man. It is considered one of the finest 20th century rose windows in the world. The earliest windows were created using plenty of white glass that were painted upon and were made using only hand-blown glass joined by lead cames. By 1937, the focus shifted and glass rich in colour and transparency was substituted for the white glass.
The cathedral has three towers, together embellished with about 2,700 carvings: St. Peter that rises 232 ft. high, on the north; St. Paul in the south; and the highest standing tower of the three, the Gloria in Excelsis Tower, which stands at a height of 300 ft. above ground level, surpassing any other central towers of existing medieval English cathedrals.
Stories in stone A brilliant blend of art and architecture leaves one transfixed as we observe the design and décor of the cathedral that houses thousands of works in wrought iron, stained glass, fabric, wood and stone.
0The beauty of the cathedral ornamentation lies in the fact that the design of images and symbols are thematically organised to narrate stories and convey messages, paying tributes to the country’s history and values at the same time.
The 10 ft. high Canterbury Pulpit, so named because the stones used in making it were from the Bell Harry Tower in the Canterbury Cathedral in England, is a sculptural masterpiece with care to every minute detail. It depicts people and scenes relating to the translation of the Bible into English.
History records that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the final Sunday sermon of his life from this pulpit a few days before he was assassinated.
Role of gargoyles The cathedral measures over 500 ft. in length and boast 112 gargoyles and grotesques and more than 200 stained glass windows.
While the gargoyles and grotesques siphon off excess rainfall from the cathedral walls, Darth Vader deflects rainwater by bouncing it off the top of its head, noses or away from its other projecting parts.
In addition to the main cathedral structure, its precincts house several aesthetically landscaped gardens and a couple of school buildings as well.
