Grandest Vista

The largest Gothic church in the world was opened to its full length last Sunday. When the great grey curtains separating the new nave from the older crossing and choir were dramatically drawn back, the congregation of 10,000 in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine saw an unbroken 520-ft. vista grander than that of any medieval cathedral.

Though nearly $20,000,000 has been spent since its cornerstone was laid in 1892, St. John's is still far from finished. Some $10,000,000 must still be raised for the transepts, crossing dome (which will soar 241 ft. from floor to lantern), central and west towers. Not until then will the original Romanesque plan of the cathedral, changed to Gothic in 1911 by Ralph Adams Cram, be completely hidden. But for a cathedral 49-year-old St. John's has made rapid progress--most of it since Bishop William Thomas Manning assumed office in 1921. St. Peter's in Rome, the only larger church, took 177 years to build. Chartres and Cologne, pride of France and Germany, each took over 300 years.

St. John's is built in the old, enduring style of its medieval prototypes. Its walls and piers rose block by block of solid granite, whereas many Gothic-seeming churches built in recent years have only a veneer of stone on a steel skeleton. Only steel in St. John's is in the roof beams above the vault, where the Gothic churches had wooden beams. Another old-fashioned feature: it has been built, unit after unit, only when the money was on hand. "We don't owe a penny," said proud Bishop Manning last week.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.