Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-19

part in the ceremonial. B1Snop gree
preached the sermon of the day, dwelling
on the value of the present-day cathedra
as a force for Righteousness In mooefi
life.
Cost Already $a, 900.
Although only partially constructed. th'
cathedral already has been twenty
years in building, at cost OF $a'ooo'-
600. and 1t may take as much longer
TO complete 1t. at a total estimated
cost Of $10.o00,000.
Seating accommodations now are pro-
vided for about ZOO persons, but. Al
though consecrated, four-ffths OF the
work remains to be done: ana tne n Luil
ent the interior walls stand IN great
part as they were laid, In Jutting
tiers Of rough granite; the vaulted roo!
of the crossing Is only makeshift OF
arches from which the transepts will
spread are blocked with temporary
concrete bafl1es. the flooring itself Is
but q cement bed on which the mosaics
Will yet be superimposed; only q hint
Of the full glory appears: and yet so
noble Is the harmony Of the ample di-
mensions, and so rich the promise OF
fulfllment, that the fragment opened
to the public today is itself an Invita-
tion to worship.
Money Has Flowed In.
"How has this mighty undertaking
been f1nanced?" asks Canon Robert FL
lis Jones. by the same devotion and
sacrifice" he answers. (which actua-
ted the best of medieval cathedral
builders. The cathedral has no official
source Of revenue. No organized effort
has been made to draw on the interest
Of Episcopalians. and yet gifts OF all
sizes have flowed in. from all quar-
ters. Five dollars comes every year
from a seamstress up the Hudson. The
inmate librarian of city refuge gave
one-tenth Of his salary. and dozen
old men in a church home earned. by
making nets and hammocks, $3.50,
which they begged might be built into
'ns a revenue r thus derived cannot be esti
mated in advance. but bequests are now
known which. as they mature, will be
sufficient to insure continued progress
The choir is now rooted and partly case(
with the limestone which will later f1n.
ish the entire interior. The eight giant
columns. each sixty-hve feet high. exclu
sive OF the capitals, which cluster about
the altar, between the ambulatory and
the chancel. are In place. with the names
carved upon them of those whom theil
donors wish to commemorate.
Two Of the seven chapels In the apse OF
with them their stained glass windows
These are the gifts of August Belmont
and Mre. Edward King. Seven tapestries
depicting sacred subjects and woven
originally, for Pope Adrian VII In 1880 at
Rome. already hang in the spaces be-
tween the windows of the apse, and the
full complement will add three more
The organ and carved choir stalls. the
gift OF Levi P. Morton, are in place. The
great crossing at the intersection of the
nave and the transepts, designed for the
main assembling place of the congrega-
ton, Is rooted over. and with the unf1n-
ished transepts 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 an.
noyance to worshipers, each finished unit
to be thrown open upon the main body OF
the ediloe as 1t becomes ready for use.
Architecture Is Romanesque.
In style the cathedral is late Roman
esque. with strong traces Of Byzantine in
fiuences. or, as the architect in chief. C
Grant La Fargo. a son of the late Johr
La Fargo, describes 1t, 80 far as the
cathedral in the larger sense is Gothic. 4
is the Gothic of a very early period, the
time of transition from the simple Ro
manesque to the more complex organism.
Nowhere is the constructive scheme base(
on the pointed arch. The mystery of lonl
VlStaS QOWU OlHl, pIldTeu dISleS has OecI
exchanged for the solemn grandeur of {
great central crossing, wherein the con
gregation may mass within sound Of th'
preachers voice. lighted from above by
domed lantern OF sixteen windows, sur
mounted in turn by central tower
The site Is the most commanding In th,
city, on what once was the battlefield o.
Harlem Heights. overlooking the mali
plain of Manhattan, the Hudson rivel
and Long Island sound. 1t occupies thre'
city blocks. bounded by 10th and 1871
streets to north and south. and Morning
side drive and Amsterdam avenue t.
east and west. The cathedral itself Is
| cruciform structure $40 feet long. IL;
| feet wide across nave and aisles. 2S8 fee
wide across transepts. having two ives
| the cross, with q central tower and spir,
planted on a base 100 feet square ant
| earring its final cross to a height O
| .s25 feet. AS the great dome of the cross
ing dominates the interior, SO the lofty
tower. soaring from the lodges Of Morn
ingside heights, will dominate the ex
/ terror.
| OF Immense Size.
Some idea of the size of the cathed,
is to be gained from comparison With
other notable cathedrals. The centra
tower of Trinity Church, Boston, hitherto
the most massive In America, could stant
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 at Constantinople
and nearly 100 feet higher The dome OF
st. Paufs. London. Is slightly wider