Smyrna times., 1936-04-09
AMERICAS BIG
CATHEDRALS
New York, Baltimore and
Washington Churches
Built
NEW AGE is DAWNING

Northumberland of the
iron scaffolding from the west ia
cade of the Cathedral of st. John
the Divine, on Morningside Heights,
New York city, recently disclosed
the entrance to this immense Gothic
church and marked another impor-
tant step toward completion of
Americas largest religious edifice.
'Paralleling the cathedral's build
ing era of the Middle ages, a new
age of cathedral building is under
way in many parts of the world"
says the National Geographic So
ciety. Architects are porting over
blueprints, cranes are lifting huge
blocks of stone into position, and
artisans are busy chiseling out stat
ues and delicate stone tracery as
new temples rear their pinnacles
skyward.
when finished, the Cathedral of
st. John the Divine will rank third
on the list of the worlds largest,
seating 10000 people, with standing
room for 10000 more. Its exterior
length, 601 feet, is exceeded only by
st. Peters in Rome, which is rs
feet long. Its central tower will
soar 455 feet. Distinctive features
are the seven Chapels of the
Tongues, in which services are oc-
casionally held in foreign Ian
guages.
Two for Baltimore.
In Washington, ID. c., work is
going forward on a great Four
teenth century Gothic edifice. High
above the city, on Mt. st. Alban,
rise the lofty gray walls of the
Washington cathedral of SITS. Pc
ter and Paul. Its exterior length
will be 534 feet Its central tower
will rise 262 feet. Among the out
standing features of this superb
structure are the Bethlehem chapel.
containing tombs of Woodrow VIII
son and Admiral Dewey, and the
choir stalls carved from oak trees
that previously stood on the
grounds.
Baltimore is to have two new
cathedrals. The Roman Catholic
Cathedral of the Assumption of
of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be
Romanesque, with a nave seating
$500 people. The twin towers flank
ing its main entrance will recall
Notre Dame of Paris. The Pro-
testant Episcopal Cathedral of the
Incarnation, of which only the pro-
cathedral Is built at present, will
be limestone edifice suggestive of
English and French Gothic types.
Seating about 5000, 1t will be ap-
proximately $50 feet long. with
spire 400 feet high.
Ground was broken in the sum-
mer Of 1892 in Upper Roxborough,
Philadelphia, for the Cathedral
Church of Christ. Built in a free
Gothic style, 1t will be 400 feet
long, and have a carlton tower 220
feet high.
after the fire of 1906 had swept
the homes from the crest Of Mob
Hill, San Francisco, the cornerstone
was laid there In 1910 for Grace
cathedral, to be the largest of Its
kind west of the Mississippi. This
partially constructed, 340-foot edi-
fee is being built chiefly of steel
reinforced concrete. The lighted
cross on its central tower will be
the highest point on the city sky
line, and visible for miles to ships
entering San Francisco bay.
"Other cathedrals being projected
In the United States are st. Philips
in Atlanta, Ca, Trinity, in Trenton,
N. j., st. Marks, in Seattle, and
the partly finished st. John the
Evangelist, In Spokane. Wash.
England Builds More.
Spain Is building two new ca
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