Friday, August 14, 2009

a few snaps from our trip to new york - st. john's cathedral

a site seeing marvel. one of many new york city has to offer. cathedral of st. john the divine is considered to be the largest christian cathedral in the world. as it was the last religious structure of its kind to be built. conceived in the 1892, changed to gothic design in 1909, the cathedral was last renovated in 2008. don't let the classic gothic revival facade fool you. inside you'll find numerous references to various other religions plus contemporary fixtures reflecting some aspects of non-religious life of nyc.


the classic facade. or is it?

one of the pillars of the facade featuring nyc skyline.

a minora? next to a cross? apparently the numerous representations of worl religions inside the cathedral are supposed to celebrate tolerance and understanding. how "new york" is that?!

new york city fire department memorial (F.D.N.Y.) located in the main chapel.

the Peace Fountain. a public art project proudly displayed in the garden of the cathedral. it's dedicated to the struggle of good and evil featuring the sun, the moon, some animals (a crab and some giraffes), archangel michael, satan, a DNA formation, plus some luminaries. "Despite the Peace Fountain's associating with a Christian (Episcopalian) cathedral, many of the luminaries thus depicted are non-Christian icons, such as Gandhi, Socrates, Einstein and John Lennon, whose image is accompanied by a quote from the lyrics of his song "Imagine"." (from wikipedia). wikipedia also notes that "the Peace Fountain has been both strongly praised and strongly criticized". really? :)

this whole architectural ensemble is a true new york city gem.

1 comment:

lena said...

this is awesome... i have to check it out next time.