St. Patrick's Cathedral
The neo-gothic Cathedral of St. Patrick is the largest catholic church in the United States. Despite its 330ft (100m) tall spires it is dwarfed by the many neighboring midtown skyscrapers.
The facade and 100 meters tall spires of the cathedral.The Diocese of New York, created in 1808, was made an archdiocese by Pope Pius IX on July 19, 1850. On October 6, 1850, Archbishop John Joseph Hughes announced his intention to erect a new cathedral to replace the Old St. Patrick's, located on the intersection of Prince and Mott Streets on Mulberry Street. The "Old Cathedral" had been destroyed by fire in 1866 but was rebuilt and rededicated by 1868.
The cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid on August 15, 1858, just south of the diocese's orphanage, much further north of the populous areas of New York at that time. The cathedral was designed by James Renwick, Jr. in the Gothic Revival style.
The cathedral was completed in 1878 and was dedicated on May 25, 1879, its huge proportions dominating the mid-town of that time. The archbishop's house and rectory were added from 1882 to 1884 and an adjacent school opened in 1882. The Towers on the West Facade were added in 1888, and an addition on the east, including a Lady Chapel began in 1901. The stained glass windows in the Lady Chapel were designed and made in Chipping Camden, England, by Paul Vincent Woodroffe between 1912-1930. The cathedral was renovated between 1927 and 1931, when the great organ was installed, and the sanctuary was enlarged.
The cathedral and associated buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976
Near the Lady Chapel is a pietà created in 1906 by American sculptor William O. Partridge. It is three times as large as Michelangelo's pietà in the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The church also features a tomb for the country's first saint: St. Elisabeth Ann Seton.
An enormous bronze door, weighing nine tonnes, is decorated with sculptures depicting some of New York's most important religious figures. Also of note is the cathedral's large rose window. Below the rose window is the church's main organ, added in 1930 as a replacement for one of the original organs