The Washington herald., 1922-05-28

To describe the beauty and i'm
pressiveness Of the Washington Ca
thedrai as II will appear when COM
pleted would be an arduous task.
but IL one will visit the grounds
and view for themselves the por-
tion that 10 completed and will fol-
low closely the architects drawing
OF the cathedral In its entirety.
they can. II they follow their i'm
agination. conceive some Idea OF
the magnificent structure which
will symbolic Religion. Art, Edu-
cation and Philanthropy.
When plans were made some
years ago for the erection of the
cathedral the present site. being on
the highest point In the immediate
vicinity OF the city. was decided
upon as the most ideal location.
But twenty minutes ride from the
white House. Just south of Chevy
Chase and overlooking the entire
city. IL can be reached by car line.
1t is but a short and beautiful drive
by auto out Massachusetts, avenue
TO Wisconsin avenue when erect
ed the cathedral will be the same
height above Washington shat the
temple was above Jerusalem.
Cross of Peace.
Approaching the cathedral from
the west and walking around the
grounds you will be attracted to
huge stone cross. This. the Peace
Cross. was erected TO commemorate
the conclusion OF the Spanish war
and to celebrate the founding Of
the National Cathedral.
Not far distant from the Peace
Cross you observe the landmark
and sun dial, which Is one OF the
most unique monuments on the Ca
thedral Close. The sun dial and
Landmark commentaries the free
dom of the land from all debt. II
was erected at the time OF the hal
lowing Of the Close and Is the gift
OF a generous woman Of the Do
cese Of WASHINGTON. who gave the
final donatIen for the purchase OF
the land. This landmark is in the
form Of an open-air altar inscribed
with the names Of those IL com
memorates, and is surmounted by
! sun dial which marks not only
the hours Of the day but the differ
ent seasons Of the church year, ana
suggests the thought Of consecra-
tion of all time. From this spot on
the grounds YOU cannot help but be
IMPRESSED by the beautiful sur
roundings of the Cathedral Close.
which Is a beautiful park Of some
| forty acres and has the same area
as had the Temple Of Jerusalem.
stone. from Jordan.
Continuing your walk around the
Close you will come upon the Bsp-
tistry. where you may view the
Jordan font. lined with stones
I brought from the River Jordan.
| This font Is SO ample in proportion
that persons to be baptized may be
either dipped In the living water or
/ the water may be poured upon
them.
! Constructed Of pure white Car.
/ rara marble. richly carved. the hg-
ure Of the risen Christ stands on a
rock holding in one arm a little
child. with the upraised hand He
gives the command: Go ye there
| fore and teach all nations, baptiZ-
| ing them in the name OF the Father.
Of the Son and Of the Holy Ghost"
Walking away from the Baptis-
try. back towards the cathedral the
completed portion OF the Colossal
structure fairly looms up TO greet
you, and here closely imbedded In
the Fountain of the Sanctuary,
under the High Altar lies this Jewel
of the Bethlehem Chapel. and tells
in stone and glass the story of the
birth Of the most high Redeemer.
The Bethlehem Chapel, as well as
the rest OF the cathedral in whose
crypt IL is located, is founded on a
compact bed Of cemented gravel.
forming an excellent support for the
heavy walls and towers. The foot
ings or all parts of the walls below
the floor line are OF massive Port
land cement concrete. and to enable
proper distribution of the great
weight Of walls and towers of the
entire cathedral over the support
ing soil il necessitated carrying tho