New-York tribune., 1919-02-11
Architect Suggests
St. Johns Cathedral
As a War Memorial
Would Have Some Features
Designed as Tribute TO
New York Soldiers; To
Pattern French Churches

The IDEAL OF the Cathedral of st.
John the Divine Is a memorial to New
York soldiers and as the property of
the entire people of the City of New
York was presented yesterday after
noon in lecture given by Ralph
Adams Cram. architect of the cathe-
dral. His audience consisted of guests
Of Mrs. Orme Wilson at her home, 3
East Sixty-fourth Street
The lecture was illustrated with Ian
tern slides and traced the develop
ment of cathedral architecture in this
country and the influence upon it Of
the architecture Of the great cathedrals
OF other countries, notably France and
England. Interior and exterior views
Of the cathedrals of Canterbury, York,
scissors, Amiens, Rheims and Noyon
as we'll as Notre Dame, were shown
before the speaker took up the subject
of the plans for the Cathedral of ST.
John the Divine.
The havoc wrought by the Germans
to the cathedral at Rheims was shown
in view taken of that structure since
hostihtieS ceased.
Huns Could Not Destroy Spirit
at is our aim in the work we are
now doing" declared Mr.. Cram, "to
prove to the world that while the Hun
may destroy the physical structure of
the most beautiful works of archtec-
ture. he cannot destroy the spirit
which produced these works. We pur-
pose as far as possible to perpetuate
that spirit and its manifestations in
the architecture of our own country"
Mr.. Cram dwelt upon what ne termed
the mon sectarian" character of the
Cathedral. Architecture, he said. has
always found its highest expression in
religious sentiment; but the Cathe-
dral of st. John the Divine is to be
peculiarly the property of the whole
people of New York and is to typfy
the community ideal of nobility in
architecture.
He declared that it is especially
fitting that in some way the Cathedral
should be made to serve as d memorial
10 the men who gave their lives to
save the culture which it represents,
and said with that end in view the
designs for the nave are being so
shaped as to bring about this result
Exactly what form this memorial will
take, he said, has not yet been deter
mined.
Consider Reproducing Others.
"Consideration is being given to a
plan for reproducing certain features
Of the cathedrals of Rheims, scissors,
Noyon, and other editices that were
targets for the Hun fire during the
war. He also said that a way would
be found to commemorate in the archi-
lecture of the nave the heroic deeds
Of American troops at Chateau Therry,
Belleau Wood. st. Mihiel and the Ar
gonne Forest.
Mr.. Cram said the foundations of the
nave are now complete, and that prog
ress on the superstructure can begin
within ten days after the work is au-
thOrized. Photographs taken from
models were shown.
Slides were shown giving the early
plans G. the Cathedral from competitive
designs made thirty years ago. Mr..
Cram called attention to the striking
changes that had been made in these
early plans and also 10 the wide diver
gence between designs submitted by
eminent architects of that day and the
present accepted designs.
lt.was announced that Mr.. Cram will
probably repeat his lecture in the near
future in the Municipal Building. A
model Of the nave of the Cathedral in
the Municipal Building will be used to
illustrate the lecture.