Washington National Cathedral: eighty-three years of construction, no structural steel, and a Darth Vader grotesque
A Washington, D.C., la prima pietra della cattedrale nazionale, dedicata a San Pietro e San Paolo, fu posata il 29 settembre 1907 alla presenza del presidente Theodore Roosevelt e di oltre 20.000 persone; i lavori si conclusero esattamente ottantatré anni dopo, il 29 settembre 1990, con la cerimonia dell’ultimo pinnacolo alla presenza del presidente George H.W. Bush. Il progetto originario si deve all’architetto inglese George Frederick Bodley, proseguito dopo la sua morte nel 1907 dal socio Henry Vaughan fino al 1917, ma la maggior parte della costruzione fu diretta da Philip Hubert Frohman, architetto capo per cinquant’anni fino alla morte nel 1972. Realizzata in puro stile gotico inglese, la cattedrale è costruita interamente in muratura, senza alcun supporto strutturale in acciaio, secondo le tecniche medievali, pietra su pietra; tra le sue numerose decorazioni scultoree spicca il celebre grottesco a forma di Darth Vader, non il vincitore ma il terzo classificato di un concorso di disegno per bambini organizzato negli anni Ottanta da National Geographic World, tra circa 1.400 proposte da 16 paesi, scolpito nel 1986. La cattedrale, contrariamente a quanto talvolta si crede, non è priva di sede diocesana: è infatti sede del vescovo della Diocesi episcopale di Washington e, dal 1941, sede cerimoniale del vescovo presidente dell’intera Chiesa episcopale, un caso unico al mondo di cattedrale che ospita due vescovi. Ha ospitato funerali o cerimonie commemorative di Stato per i presidenti Dwight D. Eisenhower nel 1969, Ronald Reagan nel 2004, Gerald Ford nel 2006-2007 e George H.W. Bush nel 2018, oltre al funerale di Helen Keller nel 1968, le cui ceneri riposano insieme a quelle della sua insegnante Anne Sullivan Macy nella Cappella di San Giuseppe d’Arimatea, e alla tomba del presidente Woodrow Wilson, unico presidente sepolto a Washington. Tra le vetrate si trova la cosiddetta “Finestra dello Spazio”, che racchiude in una camera a azoto inerte un frammento di roccia lunare portato sulla Terra dalla missione Apollo 11, donato dagli astronauti in occasione della dedicazione della vetrata il 21 luglio 1974, nel quinto anniversario dell’allunaggio. La cattedrale fu istituita per statuto del Congresso il 6 gennaio 1893, che ne creò la fondazione giuridica senza però farne un’istituzione federale né finanziarla con fondi pubblici. Il terremoto della Virginia del 23 agosto 2011, di magnitudo 5,8, causò danni stimati in circa 38 milioni di dollari, danneggiando oltre il 75% dei pinnacoli oltre a intagli e archi rampanti; la cattedrale, chiusa per circa tre mesi, riaprì a novembre 2011, ma i lavori di restauro, condotti per fasi, risultavano ancora in corso secondo le fonti più recenti disponibili, a metà circa del percorso.
About Washington National Cathedral
In Washington, D.C., the foundation stone of the national cathedral, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was laid on 29 September 1907 in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt and a crowd of more than 20,000; construction concluded exactly eighty-three years later, on 29 September 1990, with the final-finial ceremony attended by President George H.W. Bush. The original design is credited to English architect George Frederick Bodley, continued after his death in 1907 by his partner Henry Vaughan until 1917, but most of the construction was directed by Philip Hubert Frohman, chief architect for fifty years until his death in 1972. Built in pure English Gothic style, the cathedral is constructed entirely of masonry, with no structural steel support, using medieval techniques, stone upon stone; among its many carved decorations stands the famous Darth Vader grotesque, not the winning entry but the third-place design from a children’s design competition run in the 1980s by National Geographic World, drawing roughly 1,400 entries from 16 countries, carved in 1986. Contrary to what is sometimes believed, the cathedral is not without a diocesan seat: it is in fact the seat of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and, since 1941, the ceremonial seat of the Presiding Bishop of the entire Episcopal Church, a unique case worldwide of a cathedral seating two bishops. It has hosted state funerals or memorial services for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1969, Ronald Reagan in 2004, Gerald Ford in 2006-2007 and George H.W. Bush in 2018, as well as the funeral of Helen Keller in 1968, whose ashes rest alongside those of her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea, and the tomb of President Woodrow Wilson, the only president buried in Washington. Among the stained glass windows is the so-called “Space Window,” which encloses in an inert nitrogen chamber a fragment of lunar rock brought back by Apollo 11, presented by the astronauts at the window’s dedication on 21 July 1974, the fifth anniversary of the moon landing. The cathedral was established by an act of Congress on 6 January 1893, which created its legal foundation without making it a federal institution or funding it with public money. The 23 August 2011 Virginia earthquake, magnitude 5.8, caused an estimated $38 million in damage, affecting more than 75 percent of the pinnacles along with carvings and flying buttresses; the cathedral, closed for roughly three months, reopened in November 2011, though restoration work, carried out in phases, remained ongoing according to the most recent available sources, roughly halfway complete.
Key facts
- 1907-1990: built over exactly eighty-three years, no structural steel used
- Seat of two bishops, the Diocese of Washington and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church since 1941
- State funerals for Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, Ford and George H.W. Bush
- The “Space Window” holds a fragment of Apollo 11 moon rock, dedicated 1974
- Darth Vader grotesque, carved 1986, third place in a 1980s children’s design contest
- 2011: a magnitude-5.8 earthquake causes roughly $38 million in damage, repairs still ongoing
History
Built stone by stone without structural steel across eighty-three years, Washington National Cathedral finished construction only in 1990, making it one of the last great Gothic cathedrals raised anywhere in the world using largely traditional methods. Its dual role hosting both a diocesan bishop and the Presiding Bishop of the entire Episcopal Church, alongside its recurring use for state funerals, has made it a genuinely national religious space despite receiving no federal funding.
What you see
Pure English Gothic stonework rises without a single structural steel beam, its towers, flying buttresses and hundreds of carved grotesques and gargoyles the product of eight decades of continuous masonry work. Among the carvings, high on the building, sits the Darth Vader grotesque, a 1980s addition born from a children’s design contest rather than any medieval tradition.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily with seasonal variation; admission fee applies for some areas; check current hours before visiting
- Address: 3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., United States
Getting there
The cathedral stands in northwest Washington, D.C., reachable by bus or car; the nearest metro stations require a short bus connection. GPS: 38°55′50″N, 77°04′15″W.
Nearby
- Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle — Washington’s Catholic cathedral, elsewhere in the city
- Georgetown — the historic neighborhood a short distance away
Sources
- Washington National Cathedral — official site, History and Fun Facts pages (cathedral.org)
- Wikipedia — “Washington National Cathedral” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Boundary Stones (WETA) — “How Darth Vader Came to the National Cathedral”
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