St. Patrick's Cathedral was one of the first examples of Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture in the US.
The cathedral is built of brick clad in marble, quarried in New York and Massachusetts. The spires rise 330 feet (100 m) from street level and the roof is made from slate from Monson, Maine.
Located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, directly across the street from Rockefeller Center and specifically facing the Atlas statue. The cathedral appeared in the 2002 movie Spider-Man, when Spider-Man saves Mary Jane Watson and leaves her on one of the Rockefeller Center roof gardens across the street.
It can accommodate 2,200 people. Designed by James Renwick, Jr., the cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1858. At that time, present-day midtown Manhattan was far north of the populous areas of New York City.
It is 332 feet long and 174 feet wide at the transepts. The site of the church takes up a whole city block, bounded by East 51st Street to the north, Madison Avenue to the east, East 50th Street to the south, and Fifth Avenue to the west.
Archbishop Francis Spellman, later cardinal, undertook a major renovation of the cathedral's main altar area in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The bronze baldachin in the sanctuary is part of this work, and the former high altar and reredos that stood there were removed and replaced. In the 1980s, CardinalJohn Joseph O'Connor undertook further renovation work, most notably the construction of a new stone altar in the middle of the sanctuary, closer and more visible to the congregation.
The windows were made by artists in Chartres, France; Birmingham, England; and Boston, Massachusetts. The great Rose window is one of Charles Connick's major works. Whom upon his death, The New York Times reported that he was "considered the world's greatest artisan on stained windows."
- The Pietà is three times larger than Michelangelo's Pietà. It was sculpted by William Ordway Partridge.
- A bust of Pope John Paul II is located in the rear of the cathedral, commemorating his visit to the city in 1979.
Fifth Ave is also closed down each year for the Easter Parade since the Civil War. Hundreds of people from around the world gathered in midtown Manhattan on Sunday, just outside the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral, showing off their Easter hats and finery -- along with some zany attire worn by more creative participants. Anyone can march in it. Will we see you there in your finest Easter bonnet?
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