The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-04-21

in place The great crossing at the
intersection of the nave and the trans
cepts, designed for the main assemb-
ling place of the congregation, is roof
ed over. and with the unfinished tran
secpts and the nave shut in from the
weather by concrete screens, the re-
naming wing and work on the lantern
and towers above can go on without
annoyance to worshippers, each finish
ed unit to be thrown open upon the
main body of the edifice as it becomes
ready for use.
In style the cathedral is late Roman
esque, with strong traces Of Byzantine
influences, or as the architect in chief.
G. Grant LaFarge, a son of the late
John LaFarge, describes it, $50 far as
the cathedral in the larger sense is
Gothic, it is the Gothic Of very early
period: the time of transition from the
simple Romanesque to the more COM
plex organism% Nowhere is the con-
structive scheme based on the point
ed arch. The mystery of long vistas
down dim, pillared aisles has been
exchanged for the solemn grandeur
of great central crossing, wherein
the congregation may mass within
sound of the preachers voice, lighteassI
from above by domed lantern of
sixteen windows, surmounted in turn
by a central tower.
The site is the most commanding in
the city, on what once was the battle
field of Harlem Heights, overlooking
the main plain of Manhattan, the Hud-
son river, and Long Island Sound. 1t
occupies three city blocks, bounded
by 10th and 113 street to north and
south, and Morningside Drive and
Amsterdam Avenue to east and west.
The cathedral itself is a cruciform
structure $40 feet long, 165 feet wide
across nave and aiszes, 23S feet wide
across transepts, having two western
towers in angles made by arms of the
cross, with a central tower and spire
planted on base 100 feet square and
rearing its final cross to a height of
425 feet. AS the great dome of the
crossing dominates the interior, so the
lofty tower, soaring from the lodges of
Morningside Heights will dominate the
exterior.
Some idea of the size of the cath
edral is to be gained from a cohfpari.
son with other notable cathedrals. The
central tower of Trinity church, Bos.
ton, hitherto the most massive in
America, could stand within st. Johns
crossing and leave three-quarters of
its area bare. The dome is of almost
equal span with that of the mosque
of st. Sophia st Constantinople and
nearly 100 feet higher. The dome of
st. Paul's, London, is slightly WIDER.
but Sc feet lower. The rotunda of thggs
capitol at Washington is of the same
superficial area, but the ceiling stands
1873 feet above the floor and that of
st. Johns 252 feet.
The total superficial area of st.
Peters, the greatest of all cathedrals.
is 227069 square feet, little less than
double that of the next largest, at
Seville Spain, which has $4,000.
Third comes the Duomo of Milan. with
100000 square feet, and fourth st.
Johns, with 99500 Other notable
churches are Cologne Cathedral, 91,-
464; st. Paul's, London, S4,O25; St.
Sophia, Constantinople, 10000; Notre
Dame, Paris. 61,1OS; Westminster
Abbey, 61,729.
The construction is everywhere de-
signed for all the ages. The outer
walls are of cream colored granite
from Lake Mohegan, N. VI faced in
side with a beautiful, soft, buff lime
stone from Frontenac, MINI. The
groined vaults above the choir will be
brilliant with primary colors, and the
lofty dome Of the crossing will blaze
with mosaics and gold. At its four
corners stand four masonry piers. sup
porting the ceiling of the dome. and
the weight of the tower above. Each
of them is 26 feet square, its load is
34,71S,OOO pounds. and it stands on
concrete foundations. bedded forty
feet belo win the living rock. Tmping-
ing upon the piers, and now visible in
all photographs of the cathedral, but
later to be completely enclosed by the :,
exterior walls, are four flying but
tresses, the heaviest ever built, which
will take up the thrust of the arches
and distribute their load evenly on the
piers. 1t was not felt wise in so saw
age climate as that of the Atlantic
coast to expose them, constituting as
they do the only gurantee of the struc-
tural integrity of the whole, to the
attacks of rain and frost, impercepti-
BILE at first, but implacab1y destructive
in the course of the canfuriaC