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| WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL |
Architecture students would benefit from a visit to see the Gothic architecture of this church. During the August 23, 2011 earthquake (yes, other states besides California have earthquakes), a number of spires toppled from the tallest points of the church. Scaffolding was installed to prevent additional crumbling, but also for the workers repairing the damage.
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| FAVORITE PICS OF THE INTERIOR |
The cathedral has been decorated for Thanksgiving & workers had begun putting up some of the holiday wreaths. The rest of the December decorations will be installed on Friday... I imagine it will look magnificent.
Explanation for the pics (l-r): In the crypt (lower floor) was one of the most beautiful altars of shimmery mosaic tiles. The stained glass windows shown has a chunk of moon rock the astronauts brought back from the Apollo XI space mission. This pulpit has been used by many famous people --- the Dali Lama & Martin Luther King Jr (right before his assassination) --- the stone comes from the Canterbury Cathedral in England. Being interested in architecture, JPE & I are always impressed by the construction of the ceilings. These ceilings are amazing in design.
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| SPECIAL EXHIBIT |
We visited on the first day of this special exhibit... The quilled paper Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus were from an artist in North Carolina. The nativity set was donated by an artist living in Alabama... it is created entirely from driftwood she collected from the Gulf coast...
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| THE FORCE!!! |
In the 1980's, National Geographic sponsored a contest for children to submit a design for additional sculptures to be added to the exterior of the cathedral. One of the winning designs was this head of Darth Vader... It was difficult to see & my zoom lens was not strong enough to take a clear picture... but, here's the grotesque of this Star Wars creature.
The other gargoyles are amazing... I've added some additional gargoyle pictures to my growing collection. Perhaps that will be another post?
Today we're off the the National Museum of the American Indian.
Great photos and post about this wonderful building! A gargoyle series would certainly be fun!
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