 | Washington National Cathedral: Encyclopedia II - Washington National Cathedral - Architecture
Washington National Cathedral - Architecture
Washington National Cathedral was completed on 29 September 1990 after almost a century of planning and 83 years in construction. Its final design shows a mix of influences from the various Gothic architectural styles of the middle ages, marked, among other things, by pointed arches, flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings, stained-glass windows, stone-carved decorations, and three similar towers, two on the west front and one surmounting the crossing. Its west end is reminiscent of Bristol Cathedral.
Washington National Cathedral consists of a long, narrow rectangular mass formed by an eight bay nave with wide side aisles and a five bay chancel, intersected by a six bay transept. Above the crossing rising 91 m (301 ft) above the ground is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower. Its top, at 206 m (676 ft) above sea level is the highest point in Washington, DC, with the Pilgrim Observation Gallery providing a sweeping view of the city. In total, the cathedral is 115 m (375 ft) above sea level. Uniquely, the tower has two full sets of bells — a 53-bell carillon and a 10-bell peal for change ringing. The cathedral sits on a landscaped 57 acre (230,000 m²) plot on Mount Saint Alban, in northwest Washington, DC.
The one story porch projecting from the south transept has a large portal with a carved tympanum. This portal is approached by the Pilgrim Steps, a long flight of steps 12 m (40 ft) wide. Most of the building is constructed using gray Indiana limestone. Some concrete and structural steel were used sparingly. The interior of Washington National Cathedral abounds in architectural sculptures, wood carvings, mosaics and wrought iron pieces.
Stones from Canterbury Cathedral were sent for construction of the pulpit. Glastonbury Abbey provided stone for the bishop's cathedra, his formal seat. The high altar is made from the ledge of rock in which Christ's sepulchre was hewn.
There are other works of art including over two hundred stained glass windows, the most familiar of which may be the Space Window, honoring man's landing on the Moon, which includes a fragment of lunar rock at its center. Most of the decorative elements have Christian symbolism, in reference to the church's Episcopalian roots, but the cathedral is filled with memorials to persons or events of national significance: statues of Washington and Lincoln, state seals embedded in the mosaic floor of the narthex, state flags that hang along the nave, stained glass commemorating events like the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, the Cathedral sports what is probably the world's only Darth Vader sculpture in a religious building. During construction of the west towers of the Cathedral, developers decided to hold a competition for children to design decorative sculptures for the Cathedral. The image of Vader, sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter and carved by Patrick J. Plunkett, was placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral, fulfilling the role of a traditional gargoyle.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Architecture", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
