Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
using traditional Gothic engineering—blocks of granite and lime-
stone are carved out by master masons and their apprentices—which
may explain why construction is still ongoing, more than 100 years
after it began, with no end in sight. In fact, a December 2001 fire
destroyed the north transept, which housed the gift shop. But this
phoenix rose from the ashes quickly; the cathedral was reopened to
visitors within a month. That's precisely what makes this place so
wonderful: Finishing isn't necessarily the point. Though maybe it is;
in late 2007 scaffolding was finally removed from the church's south-
west tower exposing that magnificent structure for the first time in
over 15 years. And in late 2008, after a $16.5 million cleaning and
repair from the 2001 fire, the great nave is expected to open.
Though it's the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, St.
John's embraces an interfaith tradition. Internationalism is a theme
found throughout the cathedral's iconography. Each chapel is dedi-
cated to a different national, ethnic, or social group. The genocide
memorial in the Missionary chapel—dedicated to the victims of the
Ottoman Empire in Armenia (1915-23), of the Holocaust
(1939-45), and in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1992—moved me to
tears, as did the FDNY memorial in the Labor chapel. Although it
was conceived to honor 12 firefighters killed in 1966, hundreds of
personal notes and trinkets of remembrance have made it into a trib-
ute to the 343 firefighters killed on September 11, 2001.
1047 Amsterdam Ave. (at 112th St.).
&
212/316-7490
or 212/932-7347 for tour
information and reservations, 212/662-2133 for event information and tickets.
www.stjohndivine.org. Suggested admission $2; tour $5. Mon-Sat 7am-6pm; Sun
7am-7pm. Tours offered Tues-Sat 11am; Sun 1pm. Worship services Mon-Sat 8 and
8:30am (morning prayer and holy Eucharist), 12:15 and 5:30pm (1st Thurs service
7:15am); Sun 8, 9, and 11am and 6pm; AIDS memorial service 4th Sat of the month
at 12:15pm. Subway: B, C, 1 to Cathedral Pkwy.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
This Gothic white-marble-and-stone
structure is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States,
as well as the seat of the Archdiocese of New York. Designed by James
Renwick, begun in 1859, and consecrated in 1879, St. Patrick's wasn't
completed until 1906. Strangely, Irish Catholics picked one of the
city's WASPiest neighborhoods for St. Patrick's. After the death of the
beloved John Cardinal O'Connor in 2000, Pope John Paul II
installed Bishop Edward Egan, whom he elevated to cardinal in 2001.
The cathedral seats a congregation of 2,200; if you don't want to
come for Mass, you can pop in between services to get a look at the
impressive interior. The St. Michael and St. Louis altar came from
