New York Art & Architecture

April 2012

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New York’s t s e t a Gre Landmark Saint Patricks Cathedral, the largest gothic-style Catholic Cathedral in the United States is located in the historic Midtown Manhattan. Designed by American architect James Renwick, the Church spans one city block. Over three million people visit Saint Patricks Cathedral each year.

April 2012 / New York Art & Architecture

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Exterior back of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral

April 2012 / New York Art & Architecture

foliated tracery in the English Decorated style, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral reaches 330 feet high. Although built in a Gothic style its design is original and distinct.

The Cathedral is noted for its purity of style,originality of design, harmony of proportions, beauty of material, and workmanship It is existing proof that American architects and American artisans can hold their own with the architects and artisans of the Old World and that Catholics of America can

raise that captivate and cultivate the admiration of those who see it. The Church is built out of brick, not marble because brick is stronger. However, it was then covered with marble,quarried in New York and Massachusetts. The windows were made by the great

renowned artists in Chartres, France; Birmingham England and Boston, Massachusetts. The great rose window is acknowledged to be the finest work designed by Charles Connick, the 20th century genius in stained glass window design. The Saint Michael and Saint Louis altar was designed by Tiffany & Co. The Saint Elizabeth altar was designed by Paolo Medici of Rome, Italy. A bust of Pope John Paul II is located in the rear of the cathedral, commemorating his visit to the city in 1979. Archbishop Francis Spellman, later cardinal, undertook a major renovation of the cathedral's main altar area in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The bronze baldachin in the sanctuary is part of this work, and the former high altar and reredos that stood there were removed and replaced. The original high altar of Saint Patrick's is now in the University Church of Fordham University in The Bronx.The Cathedral appears in many films and TV shows including, Ugly Betty, Spider Man, James Patterson’s novel Step on a crack, etc. The Cathedral seats 2,400 people. The exterior length is about 405 feet; the width is 274 feet.

The architect was James Renwick, an American. The Lady Chapel was designed by another American, Charles Mathews. The St. Michael and St. Louis altar was designed by Tiffany and Company. The St. Elizabeth altar was designed by Paolo Medici of Rome.

The Cathedral has three organs.

Exterior of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral

Inside ceiling architecture

Each year over 3 million people visit St. Patrick's Cathedral. Services are held throughout the day, and many New Yorkers stop in for a moment of serenity in their otherwise hectic days.

Originally the word Gothic was used

by Italian Renaissance writers as a derogatory term for all art and architecture of the Middle Ages, which they regarded as comparable to the works of barbarian Goths.

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