Inside the National Cathedral

For InSPIREd Sunday I promised a couple weeks past that I’d share some inside shots from the Washington National Cathedral.

We searched the crypt for this very nook because we own a painting by a friend of ours that was inspired by this very spot in the cathedral. The next photo is of our painting that hangs in our home.

These photos I’ve shared today are just a very small sample of the amazing architecture and beauty of our National Cathedral. You can spend a day touring the Cathedral and Close and still miss some beautiful details. If you ever find your way to Washington D.C. take a Tour Trolley out to the Cathedral!

Hope your weekend has been inspired in some way.

InSPIREd Sunday – Skagit Valley

There’s a little white church in the valley
That stands in my memory each day
And it seems I can hear the bells now ringing
Though I am many miles away

And many times in church on Sunday morning
That whole countryside would gather there
They would all kneel down by the altar
As they lifted up their voice in prayer

Oh the church in the valley that little white church
Is the place I love so well
Now I’m sad and lonely yes I’m sad and lonely
For that little white church in the dell

They would sing the old song Rock of Ages
Oh Christ let me hide myself in thee
And I know some of them are now waiting
Just o’er the dark and stormy sea

I know that troubles all are ended
And happy forever they will be
They are waiting and watching up yonder
For the coming home of you and me

I took these series of photos in April of 2012. When we travel to La Conner or to Mount Vernon, Washington State to see the tulip fields we take the road that runs right next to this church. Fir-Conway Lutheran Church met first in a smaller building built in 1896. This larger building was dedicated in 1916. You can read it’s history here.

I’m linking to InSPIREd Sunday hosted by Beth and Sally. I’m also linking to Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden since this little white church is enjoying the sun.

InSPIREd Sunday ~ Washington National Cathedral

This cathedral, officially the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, had its beginning in 1893. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt, and the Cathedral was completed in 1990 – 83 years later – when the “final finial” was placed in the presence of President George H.W. Bush.

Built of Indiana limestone, the Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world. Its design is unique and not copied from any earlier building. The building is shaped like a cross, with a long nave – a tenth of a mile- and two shorter transepts.

The Cathedral’s architectural style is Gothic, characterized by great height and the use of pointed arches, boss stones, ribbed vaulting, large windows, and flying buttresses.

When visiting these wonderful historical sites there’s always something you miss or at least I miss. I tend to learn more about the site when I finally get ready to post about it on my blog. Although I did notice these Gargoyles, I totally missed the fact that Darth Vader was one of the Gargoyles on the Cathedral! Here’s an explanation.

In the 1980s, while the west towers were under construction, Washington National Cathedral held a decorative sculpture competition for children. Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett, and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral.

You would need binoculars to see it so I don’t feel too bad about totally missing it!

I guess I’ll have to visit this marvelous cathedral again. I have posts on the interior of the cathedral and the Bishop’s Garden here, here, and here.

Thank you to Beth and Sally for hosting InSPIREd Sunday.

InSPIREd Sunday ~Port Townsend

Trinity United Methodist Church in Port Townsend, Washington. You can read about it’s history here.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Port Townsend, Washington. The history and heritage of the church can be read here. Click on InSPIREd Sunday to see more posts from around the world. Thank you Beth and Sally!

These photos were taken in June of 2011. Dear and I took a ferry/road trip over to the Kitsap Peninsula, across the Hood Canal Bridge and onto the historic city of Port Townsend. We enjoyed a day of exploring including going to some garage sales. Posts on our time in Port Townsend can be found here, architecture of the town here, and some yard art here.

On this Sunday we had a very inspiring church service that featured Michael Franzese, a former crime family boss who quit the mob and lived to tell his story. Looking forward to reading his book called Blood Covenant. Seattle is all abuzz with the Seahawks win against the Panthers on Saturday. One more game to determine if they are in the Super Bowl again. I’m suffering from the after effects of a crown and not the kind you put on top of your head. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

InSPIREd Sunday ~ Snohomish

One drive around a couple blocks yielded all these churches in the city of Snohomish last Sunday.

This church has been converted to a wedding chapel. When we went all the way around I took a photo from the front view, too.

I wasn’t sure if this is still a church or if it’s been converted to a different use. It was too rainy and dreary on this day to get out of the car and check. All my photos on this drive around a few blocks came from an open window in our car.

This is Zion Lutheran Church.

This photo above is the front of the wedding chapel.

This is the Snohomish Evangelical Free Church.

We took this little drive because we got to a furniture store a little early and it wasn’t open yet. I saw several “spires” from the furniture store and decided a little drive would yield some good views for InSPIREd Sunday. Thank you Beth and Sally!

I’m looking forward to seeing the churches y’all have posted in this new year. Happy New Year everyone.

InSPIREd Sunday

A simple offering this week during this very busy extended weekend. This church is in Camarillo, California where Dear and I lived for a short 4 year stint while he worked in Thousand Oaks. St. Mary Magdalen Church was kiddy corner to a restaurant that we enjoyed frequenting. In the future I will show you the stained glass windows that have a wonderful story behind them.

For those of you in the good ole U.S.A. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was fabulous and then we started our Christmas decorating. While in the thick of that I managed to break one of my little toes on my left foot and I’ve been moving very slowly around this old house. I’ve been able to keep doing a little here and there between keeping my foot elevated and rested. We got our first dusting of snow on Saturday!! This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. After church we are going to go purchase our Christmas mystery tree.

Enough of me…you can visit InSPIREd Sunday hosted by Beth and Sally and join in some sacred viewings around the world.

InSPIREd Sunday ~ Chicago

In May of 2012 I traveled with Dear to an Oncology Conference held in Chicago and on one of the mornings we had time to enjoy breakfast together and a visit to two interesting churches filled with history.

” Holy Name Cathedral on North State Street is both a Roman Catholic parish and the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago. After the fire of 1871 destroyed the former Holy Name Church, Bishop Thomas Foley resolved to build a spectacular replacement. Brooklyn architect Patrick Charles Keely designed the Gothic structure, and the cornerstone was laid on July 19, 1874.”

Once inside the church, the most striking feature is the suspended Resurrection Crucifix sculpted by the artist Ivo Demetz.

“Among the many striking features inside the Cathedral are the five red, broad-brimmed, cardinals’ hats, or galeros, suspended from the ceiling. Traditionally, this symbol of a cardinal is raised to the ceiling of his cathedral upon his death. The hat hangs until it turns into dust, a reminder that all earthly glory is passing.” You’ll need to look carefully in the upper part of my photo which is almost too dark to see the galeros.

The most famous story about Holy Name Cathedral involves a mobster gunfight that happened on Oct. 11, 1926. Gunmen hired by Al Capone were positioned across from the cathedral and killed Earl “Hymie” Weiss in a hail of gunfire, leaving a bullet wedged into the cornerstone. We saw the bullet hole but I didn’t take a photo of it.

The Fourth Presbyterian Church was the 2nd church we visited. “The name “Fourth” was selected not because it was the fourth Presbyterian church to be founded in Chicago—there had been several founded before then, with North Presbyterian being one of the earliest—but because “Fourth” was the lowest number then not in use. “ The first structure at a different location was re-dedicated on October 8, 1871 and just 2 hours after it’s evening services concluded the Great Chicago Fire swept through downtown and the Northside and destroyed it. They were at another location and then in 1912 they settled at this property on Michigan Ave.

There was no “Michigan Avenue” north of the Chicago River yet in 1912; it was to be several years before a bridge was constructed over the Chicago River to extend north the Michigan Avenue that had grown in prominence south of the river.

“The church proper (the Sanctuary) was designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram, the parish buildings around the courtyard by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, and the stained glass windows by Charles J. Connick. The interior painting and decoration of the Sanctuary was overseen by Frederick Clay Bartlett. The new church was dedicated in 1914.”

“The North Michigan Avenue “Magnificent Mile” neighborhood literally grew up around the church, particularly after the opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1920. Except for the familiar Water Tower complex two blocks to the south, which survived the Chicago Fire of 1871, Fourth Church is now the oldest surviving structure on Michigan Avenue north of the river.”

The hotel we stayed in was just across the street from The Fourth Presbyterian Church. Do you make it a point to open the door of a beautiful church when you are traveling. I’m always happy to find them open to enjoy.

Linking up with InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally.

Back here in November of 2014 we are still cold and dry in the greater Seattle area. Dear has been finishing up some painting of new doors and baseboard and touching up the walls around the bathroom renovation. We moved some wall art which meant some more touch up needed to be done. We’re getting ready for an early Thanksgiving gathering this coming weekend. How was your weekend?

St. John’s Seminary~Camarillo, California

Dear and I lived in Camarillo, California from 2006 until Spring of 2010 because of Dear’s work. Driving around Camarillo I noticed St. John’s Seminary set high on a hill. I tried to see if I could get on the grounds but it was a private property with a gated entrance that was locked up tight.

In December of 2008 I had the rare opportunity to visit the grounds of St. John’s Seminary for a Christmas Concert that a friend’s son was performing in. When I found out the campus would be open for this concert I was there with bells on. The concert was beautifully performed in the historic chapel.

In 1924, plans were being made for a minor seminary for the training of priests in the Los Angeles Area. Sixty five students were registered for the academic year of 1926-27. At that time, Juan E. Camarillo made a gift to the archdiocese of 100 acres on the knoll of Rancho Calleguas, which land separated the Calleguas Ranch from Rancho Las Posas. The purpose of Mr. Camarillo’s gift was the location there of a major seminary. Ground was broken for St. John’s in March of 1938, after a speedy and successful drive for funds.

The original buildings, including the chapel which is unique in its marble decorations and stained-glass windows, are built around a quad with interior porticoes.

When Archbishop Cantwell was planning for the new seminary, he approached Mrs. Edward Laurence Doheny, Sr. about the possibility that she would donate the library. Mr. Doheny, her husband, the great oil tycoon, had passed away in 1935. Together they had built the library at USC in memory of Edward Laurence Doheny, Jr. and Mrs. Doheny considered this new opportunity a most appropriate way to honor the memory of her husband. It also afforded her the opportunity to create a permanent home for the thousands of rare books and art objects which she had collected since 1930 and which would burgeon before her death in 1958.

Mrs. Doheny hired her favorite architect, Wallace Neff, and commissioned him to design a building which would house a working library for the students and faculty as well as quarters for her collection.

The result is a classical Spanish building which reflects some of the overtones of the 1,100 years of Moorish influence in Spain. The pale pink stucco structure complements and enhances the neo-Spanish architecture of the main buildings.

It was a very bright sunny day when I visited. On some of the photos you can’t see the pink tone to the building but this photo that I took at this angle the pink shows through nicely.

The first floor of the library serves students and faculty, and the second floor housed the Estelle Doheny Collection which contained some 8,000 volumes of rare books. There were also displayed much of Mrs. Doheny’s fine French period furniture, canvases by Barbizon and western American artists. The collection was distinguished for an impressive array of Bibles which were significant type, among which the premier volume were one of the few extant original Gutenberg Bibles. I found out today her entire collection was sold off to over 40 different buyers from around the world in 1988! Oh how sad that this collection is scattered all over the world now.

I wasn’t aware that this significant collection had been housed in this library when I was on campus in December. After researching and finding this information I was disappointed to find out it was no longer there.

I found my experience on this day to be quite privileged. Experiencing the amazing architecture in person was so much better than my photos can afford.

I’m linking this post that I copied from a post I published in 2009 to InSPIREd Sunday.

Thank you Beth and Sally for hosting!

ABC Wednesday ~ Mary Magdalen Church, Camarillo

M is for St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo, California

In my Sky Watch #10 Post I mentioned that I was trying to get inside St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo to see their historic stained glass windows. A few Sundays ago we went to the church grounds to buy some home made Mexican food at a fiesta they were putting on as a fund raiser. While there I was thrilled to see the church doors open and I went inside and was able to finally see and take pictures of these amazing works of art.

Here is an excerpt written in a historical site about the windows.

“The most notable chapel fixtures were its magnificent 13 stained glass windows. These azure, crimson, green, and gold windows tell a double story — one of the life of Christ, the other of a world at war.

While on a trip to Europe, Juan Camarillo selected the windows in Munich, Germany. The year was 1913 and the early rumbles of the continent gathering its strength for conflict were growing with each passing day. Somewhere between the studios of glass-blower F. X. Zettler of Munich and the church on a hilltop in faraway Camarillo, the stained glass windows were lost. Zettler’s name can be seen at the bottom of the windows depicting the Holy Family (east side) and Christ with the children (west side). Despite the best efforts of the Camarillo family through consuls and ambassadors, the windows appeared lost forever. Mrs. Carmen Camarillo Jones recalled that her uncle Juan feared they were at the bottom of the sea. One day a letter arrived from a German official. This official in Munich had been noticing several large crates staked outside a building with Juan’s name on them. He had written Juan several letters and finally one got through at the end of Word War 1. Much to the joy and relief of everyone, the lost windows had been found. However, it was a painfully slow and long trek to Los Angeles, and then on to Camarillo, before they were finally installed in the thick brick and plastered chapel walls in 1919.”