Home Destinations USA New York New York City Sights Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine Review

Read our New York City sights reviews. Or post your own.

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

Address: 1047 Amsterdam Ave., at W. 112th St., Morningside Heights, New York, NY, 10025 | Map It
Phone: 212/316-7540; 212/662-2133 box office; 212/932-7347 tours
www.stjohndivine.org

Category: Religious Sites
Location: Upper West Side

Write a review

Fodor's Review:

The largest Gothic-style cathedral in the world, even with its towers and transepts still unfinished, this divine behemoth comfortably asserts its bulk in the country's most vertical city. Episcopal in denomination, it acts as a sanctuary for all, giving special services that include a celebration of New York's gay and lesbian community as well as the annual Blessing of the Bikes, when cyclists of all faiths bring their wheels for a holy-water benediction. The cathedral hosts musical performances (www.stjohndivine.org) and has held funerals and memorial services for such artists as Duke Ellington, Jim Henson, George Balanchine, James Baldwin, and Alvin Ailey. At the end of 2008 a renovation intended to fix damage from a 2001 fire left the church looking newly scrubbed.

Built in two long spurts starting in 1892, the cathedral remains only two-thirds complete. What began as a Romanesque-Byzantine structure under the original architects George Heins and Christopher Grant Lafarge shifted (upon Heins's death in 1911) to French Gothic under the direction of Gothic Revival purist Ralph Adams Cram. You can spot the juxtaposition of the two medieval styles by comparing the finished Gothic arches, which are pointed, with the still-uncovered arches, which are rounded in the Byzantine style.

To get the full effect of the cathedral's size, approach it from Broadway on West 112th Street. Above the 3-ton central bronze doors is the intricately carved Portal of Paradise, which depicts St. John witnessing the Transfiguration of Jesus, and 32 biblical characters. Then step inside to the cavernous nave. Over 600 feet long, it holds some 5,000 worshippers, while the 162-foot-tall dome crossing could comfortably contain the Statue of Liberty (minus its pedestal). Turn around to see the Great Rose Window, made from more than 10,000 pieces of colored glass, the largest stained-glass window in the United States.

At the end of the nave, surrounding the altar, are seven chapels expressing the cathedral's interfaith tradition and international mission—with menorahs, Shinto vases, and dedications to various ethnic groups. The Saint Saviour Chapel contains a three-panel bronze altar in white-gold leaf with religious scenes by artist Keith Haring (his last work before he died in 1990).

Outside in the cathedral's south grounds, don't miss the eye-catching Peace Fountain. It depicts the struggle of good and evil in the form of the archangel Michael decapitating Satan, whose head hangs from one side. Encircling it are whimsical animals cast in bronze from pieces sculpted by children.

Cost: Tours $5
Open: Mon.—Sat. 7-6, Sun. 7-7; tours Tues.-Sat. at 11 and 1, Sun at 2. A vertical tour with a climb of 124 feet to top is given on Sat. at noon and 2 (reservations required; $15). Sun. services at 9, 11, and 6
Subway: 1 to 110th St./Cathedral Pkwy.

Find more sights in New York City »