Instead, rain water flows off the head, nose or other protruding part, and stays off the wall. Gargoyles and grotesques are often, but not always, carved in the form of fantastic or imaginary animals or people. A number of our Cathedral carvings memorialize or honor real people, often in a funny way. Our sculptors were always very careful that the carvings were funny, but never mean. Care also has been taken to make sure that no political statements have been made in our carvings.
Some carvings depict real animals instead of imaginary ones.
Washington National Cathedral has 107 carved stone gargoyles. There are no gargoyles on the east end of Washington National Cathedral - the architect thought they interfered with the design of the building. Most of our gargoyles were carved on the ground and installed later, when the construction reached the proper height. Many of our grotesques are actually beautiful angels. All are placed high on the northwest tower, but you can see them with binoculars.