Fifteen years have passed since the stonemasons put down their chisels and mallets for the last time. Now, they can finally see what their carving wrought: the uppermost 55 feet 2 inches of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.
In recent weeks, the cathedral’s southwest tower has emerged from the rusty scaffolding that had enclosed it since the last round of construction ended in 1992. The tower is still far from complete, but it has grown noticeably closer to the sky.
What is now revealed, in a limestone several shades blonder than the rest of the cathedral, are crisp buttresses, gables, colonettes, gargoyles, pinnacles, crockets and ornaments known as trefoils (three cusps), quatrefoils (four cusps) and cinquefoils (five cusps).
The tower has a newly imposing presence.
“It has been set free from its bondage of scaffolding,” said the Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, dean of the cathedral. Perhaps the greatest personal gratification, he said, was felt by those who labored so hard on the tower before the money ran out. “It was the first time they saw the magnitude of what was accomplished.”
A whitewashed tomb.
Bit of a ramshackle hodgpodge, I think. It’s the “Gone with the Wind” of ecclesiastical architecture, you can tell where one director left off and the next began, and the next… There are other cathedrals built over decades or even centuries that managed to keep some sense of architectural unity.
All right, I admit it, I’m dense. Why did it take 15 years to remove the scaffolding? It sounds like institutional inertia on a cosmic scale.
David,
It was symbolic: TEC theology under re-construction. Now that they have their way, it can come down. 😉
Sad, but I used to think this was a really cool place…
I think he meant The Cathedral of Saint [i]Elton[/i] John the Divine.
Herr Schnarchmeister
Snarkster: You do have the greatest sense of humor! Keep it up.