The National Cathedral

A few facts about the cathedral: 

• The Space Window on the south aisle of the Cathedral contains a piece of lunar rock.
• There is a sculpture of Darth Vader in the Cathedral.
• The Cathedral’s central tower is the only place in North America to house both peal and carillon bells.
• The Cathedral labyrinth is a medieval design based on the one in the floor of the nave at Chartres Cathedral in France.
• The Great Organ was expanded multiple times during construction to serve the growing Cathedral.
• The Cathedral is home to one of the few old growth forests still standing in the nation’s capital, Olmsted Woods, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
• The main exhibition case of the Rare Book Library occasionally displays the Cathedral’s first edition of the King James Bible, printed in London in 1611. This Bible belonged to Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James.
• The official name of Washington National Cathedral is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The Cathedral by the Numbers:

• The Cathedral was completed 83 years to the day after it was begun (September 29, 1907–September 29, 1990).

• Washington National Cathedral is the sixth largest cathedral in the world and the second largest in the United States. (The largest Church in the world is St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The largest cathedral in the United States is Saint John’s, New York City.)
• The total cost of building the Cathedral was $65 million, all of which was raised through private donations.
• The Cathedral weighs 150,000 tons.
• The average piece of stone weighs 300 pounds.
• The heaviest stone in the Cathedral is the 5.5-ton boss over the west balcony.
• There are 762 boss stones in the Cathedral, 640 located on the nave level.
• 288 angels adorn the two west towers.
• The north rose window is the Cathedral’s largest stained glass window at 26 feet in diameter.
• The central tower is 676 feet above sea level, making its top the highest point in the District of Columbia.
• The largest of the 53 bells of the carillon weighs 24,000 pounds and measures eight feet, eight inches in diameter.
• There are 110 gargoyles on the Cathedral.
• There are 215 stained glass windows in the Cathedral.
• More than 10,500 pieces of stained glass make up the west rose window.
• There are more than 1,500 separate pieces of needlepoint in the Cathedral.
• There are 10,650 pipes in the Great Organ.
• The exterior of the Cathedral is almost the length of two football fields.
• More than 220 people are interred in the Cathedral, including Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller.
• The Cathedral has a staff of about 75, as well as more than 1,100 volunteers.
• The Cathedral welcomes nearly 700,000 visitors and worshipers annually.

This is the Darth Vader gargoyle at the cathedral. 

We spent all afternoon at the cathedral and took a short tour. The grandeur and the scale of this cathedral are so hard to describe and a must-see place.  Being a bit under the weather, I could not see all of the cathedral and plan on going back to finish my picture taking excursion 🙂 If you are ever in the neighborhood, don’t miss the chance to go and visit this amazing structure!