Views of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, architects Heins & LaFarge, 1893-1911, Ralph Adams Cram, 1911 until his death in 1942, make strikingly evident that crowding its Close with commercial construction or university expansion on a massive scale is the wrong "Project." Instead, the last century's foremost American achievement of art and faith, a Cathedral renewing the Western Gothic aspiration and reverberating with the labor of generations, should be brought forward to its
We are a very young country and much great building here lies ahead. Completion of the Ralph Adams Cram designs for the Cathedral Church presents one of the foremost architectural challenges within our shores. Study the views of the fascinating rear elevations, north and south, in their currently
The scaffolding wrapping the south front tower, which dates from the brave restarting of construction formally opened by the dedication of the Stoneyard in 1979, is rusted and sagging. Those entrusted to care for the Cathedral as envisioned by its founders are challenged to call upon the great resources of the world's wealthiest nation to make possible a resumption of work, however gradual, toward its completion. Then, in the words of former Dean James Parks Morton, "We will revive the art of stonecraft and eventually complete the world's largest cathedral. And we will provide our city with a massive symbol of
Views of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
Eight views of the ancillary buildings indicate the immediate impact of the proposed glassed wall luxury housing. Synod Hall at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue is shown in the path of the proposed 20-story construction. Further views of the ancillary buildings—the Cathedral House, the Diocesan House, the corridor between the Cathedral School and the Deanery—indicate their threatened loss of horizon, the now open skies which will be darkened, even closed, by the glassed wall rental housing. Several views indicate the impact on the Cathedral House and Diocesan House of the 20-story apartment development now located across the wide Cathedral Parkway from the Close. The south lawn, as noted in our petition, will be overshadowed by
Eight views of the ancillary buildings
Views of the northern elevation of the Cathedral Church convey all that would be hidden by the massive building on the 113th St. sector of the Close, Amsterdam Avenue to Morningside Drive, proposed by the "Real Estate Project." Today, the option for a 99-year lease of this sector of the Close for construction is held by
Views of the northern elevation of the Cathedral Church
Surmounting the eastern end of the Cathedral Church, the figure of Archangel Gabriel completes the first building phase, designed and overseen by
By 1927, Ralph Adams Cram, about to begin construction of the nave and western front, had drawn designs for the