“The great cathedral on Morningside Heights is nearing completion faster than most of us imagine,” states the opening sentence of this New York Times article from November 28, 1909.
Well, not exactly—the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is still unfinished more than a century later.
The cornerstone was laid in 1892, and workers instantly encountered problems.
First, geological snags had to be fixed before the foundation could be poured.
In 1905, controversy erupted when it was discovered that sculptor Gutzon Borglam had created female angels in one of the chapels. Four years later, the Byzantine-Romanesque design was shelved in favor of a Gothic look.
Some of the seven planned chapels were completed, as was the crypt and nave, by the 1930s. Then World War II halted construction, postwar efforts to get things going occurred in fits and starts, and a fire in 2001 destroyed part of the northern end.
But even at only three-fifths complete, it’s still breathtaking and beautiful.
Tags: Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Episcopalian NYC, famous cathedrals, Gutzon Borglam, Morningside Heights, New York City churches, New York City's most beautiful buildings, Vintage NYC postcards
Ephemeral New York 
January 6, 2011 at 2:11 am |
I just visited St. John the Divine this summer. It WAS divine!
January 6, 2011 at 2:48 am |
I was there with Carol. BEAUTIFUL place! We prowled every nook and cranny !
August 24, 2015 at 6:15 am |
[…] Cathedral of St. John the Divine—begun in 1892 and still unfinished—is one of the city’s most magnificent houses of […]
August 29, 2015 at 6:50 pm |
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