Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Context Site The neighborhood of Morningside Heights was thinly settled in the 17th century by the Dutch, then by the English. It remained rural through the mid-19th century, with two exceptions. The first was the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, which opened in 1821 and moved to Westchester in 1889. The other was Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum, bounded by 110th Street to the south and 113th Street to the north, which later became the current cathedral site. The Leake and Watts asylum was incorporated in 1831 under act of the New York State Legislature, and three years later, of land at the corner of Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and 110th Street was purchased from the Bloomingdale Asylum. The initial plans for the asylum were drawn up by Ithiel Town, but were revised several times to keep the costs within the asylum's budget. Need for a cathedral Meanwhile, the Episcopal Diocese of New York started to grow in the early 19th century: there were 26 Episcopal parishes in the city by 1800, and a decade later, that number had nearly doubled to 50. In 1828, the first proposal for a grand cathedral for the diocese was made by Bishop John Henry Hobart, who proposed a site near Washington Square Park. The church would be called the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, or St. John's Cathedral for short, after the Revelation by John of Patmos (also called "John the Divine"). Yet another plot of land, at Eighth Avenue and 74th Street, was offered to the church in 1882, but rejected due to the high cost of acquisition. By 1890, there were 40,000 Episcopalians in Manhattan, and Episcopalians made up the largest bloc of Protestants in the borough. Planning Site selection When Henry C. Potter, Horatio Potter's nephew, became the Diocese of New York's assistant bishop in 1883, he convened the trustees to look for an alternative site. that would rival the Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. In his announcement, Potter called on New Yorkers to give funds toward the new cathedral, which was expected to cost $10 million. The plans for the cathedral were well received by both Protestants and non-Protestants, as well as the media and other denominational leaders. The donors included the wealthy Astor, Vanderbilt, and Belmont families. Numerous sites in Manhattan were examined for the new cathedral's location, and by 1889, the Leake and Watts Asylum between 110th and 113th Streets had been chosen as the site for the future site of St. John's. News media such as The New York Times and Uptown Visitor praised the decision, as the site was located on a high point overlooking Central and Morningside parks. The committee had wanted to build slightly further north, on a more elevated plot between 116th Street to the south and 119th Street to the north. However, that plot would be too difficult to acquire, as ownership of that tract was divided among several entities; by contrast, the Leake and Watts Asylum had full control over their entire city block. The asylum site was deeded to the cathedral in October 1891, and the asylum moved to Westchester County, New York. The asylum site was then acquired for $850,000. At the time, Morningside Heights was quickly being developed as a residential neighborhood surrounded by numerous higher-education institutions. Architecture competition There was also debate over the new cathedral's style. Because of the larger plot and more remote location from Midtown Manhattan it was anticipated it could be more elaborate than St. Patrick's. The competition closed in January 1889. In May 1889 the trustees formed a committee to review the more than 60 designs submitted. The board members then discussed the designs privately; some architects expressed concerns about the secret consultations, since the trustees generally did not have professional knowledge of architecture. "Gerona" used the Gothic style based on Spanish cathedrals; "AMDG" and "Jerusalem the Golden" were in a regular Gothic style, and "Three Arabesque Scrolls" was mainly Byzantine. Potter and Robertson were the only finalists with significant experience at the time, and the trustees had agreed not to release any designs without the consent of all competitors, although some contestants broke this agreement and revealed their designs to the media. but was later extended to November after a failed proposal to host the World's Columbian Exposition in Morningside Park. This design had been the trustees' second choice but although the trustees liked Potter and Robertson's plan more, W. A. Potter was the bishop's half-brother and the trustees did not want to be accused of nepotism. To Kent's consternation, he was initially not recognized as a co-collaborator, and would not be acknowledged as such until the following year. The design proposed an apse of radiating chapels apses; a square crossing defined by four round-headed arches, supporting a dome over which was rise a massive tower; and transepts with round edges. The interior was based upon Boston's Trinity Church, and the crossing was based upon Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, Venice's St. Mark's Basilica, and the Périgueux Cathedral. The "exotic" design was seen as an example of the unusual architecture that was prevalent at that time. That October, the trustees directed the firm to revise their design further. The following month, it was announced that work would begin in early 1892, provided that Heins & LaFarge submitted their revised plans that April. The original plans were then substantially revised because the board of trustees wanted a Gothic-style appearance. The western towers were modified to remove the spires and enlarge the windows, and various Gothic details were placed on the facade. The nave was realigned from north–south to east–west so that the apse would face east, in the direction of the sunrise, to represent the resurrection of Jesus as per Episcopal tradition. Heins & LaFarge objected to the realignment because it would result in the cathedral being hidden behind other buildings. Construction and early years Construction on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine was begun with the cornerstone-laying ceremony on December 27, 1892, St. John's Day. One thousand tickets for seats at the ceremony were distributed, though the actual attendance was 1,100. The following month, the remaining $175,000 for land acquisition had been secured, and the trustees moved to take title to the land, including the cathedral close around the cathedral's main building, in April. Unlike the main building, the cathedral close was not designed under a single master plan, and during the 1890s and 1900s, several proposals would be made for the site. Initial construction Construction work began in early 1893. One of these pockets was located directly below the site for one of the four massive piers that were to support the cathedral's stone tower. The trustees briefly considered moving the entire cathedral slightly southward. They decided against moving the cathedral, believing it to be inauspicious to move the cornerstone. The pits were completed in late 1895 at a significantly higher cost than originally estimated. and as per an 1896 estimate, the cathedral was projected to cost at least $5 million when complete. As a temporary measure, the Tiffany Chapel was purchased in mid-1898 so that services could be held there. The chapel was placed in the crypt, within the basement. The first services were held in January 1899 within the Tiffany Chapel. The crossing arches, located in the cathedral plot's eastern portion, were completed the following year, By then, some $2 million had already been spent, even though little appeared to have been completed. Despite large donations from prominent figures such as financiers John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor, governor Levi P. Morton, banker J. P. Morgan, and businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt, the trustees continued to raise funds. In March 1903, the trustees announced that the next stage of St. John's construction would require $500,000 for building the choir and $200,000 for completing the loft, and that eight massive granite columns would need to be procured to support the roof over the choir. Furthermore, the trustees would build three arches to support the rest of the roof. Quarried in Vinalhaven, Maine, each column was tall with a diameter—at the time, the world's second-largest stone columns. Each column comprises two parts—a lower section tall and weighing , and the upper section of and weighing —jointed so that the columns appear to be monoliths. Because of their size, three of the columns were cracked while being turned. The columns were then transported using a specially constructed barge towed by the large steam tug Clara Clarita. When the columns arrived at Manhattan in July and August 1903, they were rolled onto flatbed trucks and brought to the cathedral's site. The builders lacked a derrick strong enough to lift the column pieces, so they ordered wood to build one. The columns were finally lifted in July 1904, more than a year after the initial announcement. The board of trustees implemented a new charter in early 1904, which provided for greater representation of laypeople on the board. By 1905, with $800,000 available for construction, the trustees anticipated that the cathedral would be completed within a decade. The church's great organ was ordered from Skinner the following year at a cost of $50,000 (), following a gift by the Morton family. It was almost completed by 1911 with nearly 7,000 pipes; the cost of the organ had risen to $70,000. Work also continued on the exterior walls of the choir and the seven surrounding chapels in the apse, which required of granite. Builders estimated that of stone would have been used for the walls once work was completed. Gutzon Borglum was commissioned for some of the initial sculptural elements on St. John's, though his relation with the trustees was strained: he destroyed two angels after criticism of his work and threatened to quit in 1906. Because of the delays in construction, members of the public began to question the necessity of constructing such a large cathedral. Crossing opening and change in design Although Heins died in 1907, LaFarge continued to design the crossing, choir, and apse of St. John's. The choir was nearly complete by October 1909, but there were insufficient funds to complete its construction, delaying its opening by at least six months. At that time, St. John's was earning about $24,000 per year and had a $500,000 endowment, while at least $1 million was needed to complete construction. In March 1911, trustees finally confirmed an opening date of April 19, 1911. The first service in the choir and crossing, the consecration of the choir, occurred as scheduled on that day. The completed portions of the cathedral were widely praised, though few newspapers devoted extensive coverage to the event, except the New York Herald. The original Byzantine-Romanesque design was switched to a Gothic design, and Cram was asked to convert many existing features to Gothic style. The move was criticized in the local media, However, The New York Sun reported that Cram had only reluctantly accepted the commission because the trustees had threatened to hire an overseas architect. and his revised designs for the main structure were completed in 1913. Regardless, there was still not enough money to complete the cathedral's construction, as the New York Episcopal Diocese Cathedral League had mentioned in 1912 that $5.5 million was still needed. The diocese was able to construct several structures to the south of the main building (see ), Nave and north transept By January 1916, Bishop David H. Greer announced that the diocese would construct St. John's nave and narthex, along with a pair of towers on the western elevation of the facade above the narthex. The project would cost $1.5 million, even though St, John's only had about $200,000 on hand as of June 1915. A groundbreaking ceremony for the nave was held on May 8, 1916. That November, construction stopped due to material and funding shortages during World War I, and the trustees had decided against raising funds until after the war. Cram edited his plans in the interim. The new plans required $5–6 million, but would make St. John's the third- or fourth-largest worldwide. The cathedral did not yet have the money to build the nave, and furthermore, in 1920 the trustees decided not to hold fundraising drives for said purpose. Because of an unstable economy, work did not resume for another four years, The New York campaign committee, headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, campaigned from 1923 to 1925 to raise $6 million (). By May 1924, Manning announced that $2.5 million had been donated within the previous three months, and that work on the nave would soon begin if that rate of donation were to continue. St. John's was seeking price estimates for the nave's construction by that November, and the baptistery was donated the same year. and the laying of the nave's cornerstone occurred on November 9, 1925. Manning wanted the cathedral to be an interdenominational place of worship, but was still reluctant to add other denominations' members to the board of trustees. Notably, Manning rejected a request from John D. Rockefeller Jr., a Baptist, despite the latter's $500,000 donation toward the cathedral's building fund. Cram's blueprint revisions, published in 1929, entailed building the square tower over the crossing, and adding two portals to the western elevation. Since the funds for that transept were donated solely by women, it was called the Women's Transept. Construction at St. John's was otherwise unaffected by the Great Depression. When construction of the Women's Transept resumed in 1934, the nave and the western elevation were nearly complete except for the two towers above the western facade, but work on the crossing tower and south transept had yet to commence. By 1938, the nave was completed, but the temporary construction wall between the nave and crossing was still in place because the Byzantine-Romanesque crossing's design had yet to be harmonized with the Gothic nave. As such, Cram subsequently replaced the portions of the ceiling above the choir and the apse's eastern section. Additionally, the nave started to be used for services, even though it had not yet been dedicated. Full-length opening and expansion The full length of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine was opened for the first time on November 30, 1941. At that time, St. John's was only three-fifths completed, yet it was the second-largest Christian church in the world by area, behind only St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. With the consequent entry of the United States into World War II, work on the cathedral stopped. The southern transept and tower had yet to start, while the northern transept remained one-third complete. The western towers, planned to be , reached only to the roof of the nave. In 1945, Manning had attempted to start a fundraising drive for $10 million so that the remaining funds could be raised for the cathedral's completion. However, during the late 1940s, his successor Bishop Charles Kendall Gilbert turned efforts toward alleviating social issues in the vicinity of the cathedral. By that time, a total of $19 million had been spent on construction (equivalent to $ million in ). Several plans were proposed through the early 1960s, but none were examined in depth. The trustees had approved a smaller version of the western towers and the crossing, with a modern multicolored dome to be built atop the crossing. The project did not proceed, as Bishop Horace W. B. Donegan said that such work would not occur during his administration; rather, he wanted the construction money to instead go toward helping the poor. In the 1970s, the cathedral's activities turned toward improving quality of life in Morningside Heights; helping the elderly, young, and the environment; and participating in the civil rights movement and the opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. However, when the Very Reverend James Parks Morton was installed as St. John's dean in 1973, he said that construction at St. John's would start again. Morton said he wanted St. John's to become "a holy place for the whole city". St. John's had become overcrowded because of its increasing focus on community activities, and even though the cathedral was losing $500,000 each year, Morton believed that an expansion would help make space for these extra activities. Resumption of work Morton announced in December 1978 that construction would soon begin on constructing the two western towers, extending their height by and bringing their total height to . The job was expected to cost $20 million and take five years. However, by then, there was a shortage of qualified stone carvers in the area. planned to employ unskilled younger workers from the surrounding community. The architect was Hoyle, Doran and Berry, the successor to Cram's architecture firm. The expansions would be based primarily on Cram's revised designs, published before his death. Construction started first on the south tower, named for Saint Paul, By 1984, St. John's was projected to be complete in 2000. Under the leadership of master stone carvers Nicholas Fairplay, Simon Verity, and Jean Claude Marchionni, work on the statuary of the central portal of the cathedral's western elevation was started in 1988 and completed in 1997. During this era, the cathedral expanded its cultural programming, hosting some 140 shows and performances in the 1987–1988 season, some of which drew up to 3,000 observers. By 1992, the construction budget had been depleted; work was halted, and the stone yard was closed. By then, another of height had been added to the south tower. other portions remained, rusting away for fifteen years. The Very Reverend Harry H. Pritchett Jr., who succeeded Morton in 1997, decided against further expansion of St. John's, especially since the existing facilities needed $20–40 million in repairs. Despite the damage sustained, St. John's reopened two weeks later. Though the pipe organ was not damaged, all its pipes and other component parts were removed and restored. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke. In January 2005, the cathedral began a major restoration to not only remove smoke damage resulting from the 2001 fire, but also clean the 80 years of dirt accumulation in the nave. The renovations temporarily depleted St. John's funds: the unaffected portions of the cathedral started to deteriorate, staff salary raises were deferred, and several staff positions were eliminated. The scaffolding around the south tower was removed in 2007, At the same time, St. John's officials wanted to lease out the lots at the northern and southern borders of the cathedral close for further development, a move that preservationists unsuccessfully attempted to prevent. Ultimately, two residential buildings were erected on these lots: Avalon Morningside Park on the southern lot and the Enclave on the northern lot. In 2017, the cathedral close was re-designated a city landmark, except for the two new residential buildings. The next year, the first phase of the north transept's renovation was finally completed, --> and work began on a renovation of the crypt. On April 14, 2019, a small fire occurred in the crypt; except for smoke damage, the cathedral building was mostly unaffected. Many artworks stored in the crypt were reportedly damaged or destroyed in the fire. An initial cleaning removed smoke damage from the bottom 10 feet of the interior of the cathedral. A cleaning of the rest of the interior was also ongoing. Ennead Architects proposed erecting a copper dome above the crossing so that the crossing's tiles could be rehabilitated. The restoration of the dome was completed in 2022. A restoration of the organ, which had been damaged in the 2019 fire, was completed in December 2024. == Main structure ==

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, between West 110th Street (also known as Cathedral Parkway) to the south and 113th Street to the north. The cathedral's main entrance on the west is along the same axis as 112th Street. Adjacent sites include Mount Sinai Morningside (formerly St. Luke's Hospital) to the north, Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus to the north and west, and Morningside Park to the east. One of the key reasons for St. John's location is that the land under it was described as the "highest point in Manhattan". St. John's is oriented west–east relative to the street grid The entire structure measures long. , these dimensions make St. John's the fourth-largest Christian cathedral in the world and puts it in competition with Liverpool Cathedral as being the world's largest Anglican cathedral. The original design for the cathedral was created by Heins & LaFarge. The original plan at St. John's called for tiled-arch domes and barrel vaults. The crossing was to be held up by four round arches under a dome, with a tower on top. Cram, described as a "brilliant perfectionist", frequently revised his proposal and later spoke of Heins & LaFarge's plans as better than his own. , no major construction work was ongoing; according to the cathedral's website, its funds were being used mainly "to prioritize serving the community through our programming and social initiatives, and to maintaining the architectural integrity of the Cathedral". Narthex and western facade Narthex The narthex, in the westernmost portion of the cathedral facing Amsterdam Avenue, was designed by Cram. Inside the narthex is a large vestibule, which serves as an entrance to the nave on the east. The north tower reaches to the roof of the nave, which is above ground level; Western facade The narthex abuts the unfinished western elevation of the facade facing Amsterdam Avenue; this facade is wide and consists of five architectural bays. The bays are separated by large arched buttresses with finials at their tops, and they contain niches for the possible future installation of statues. The western elevation is divided into four vertical tiers. From bottom to top, they are the ground-level portals, on the first tier; the gallery level, on the second tier; the large rose window and several smaller grisaille and lancet windows, on the third tier; and the top of the south tower and the gable above the center bay, on the fourth tier. these were carved in 1988 under Simon Verity's leadership. The center, northernmost, and southernmost portals are set within large, gabled structures with several archivolts, or arched moldings, surrounding each portal under the gables; porches overhang the portals above the gables. The other two portals are located under simple rectangular canopy structures, With a diameter of , Flanking the rose window on either side are two grisaille windows, each with two lancet windows under a smaller rose. The seven archangels are depicted in the north grisaille, while the seven churches of Asia are depicted in the south grisaille. The bronze doors include a sequence of 60 relief panels, which presents scenes from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocalypse. but the ridge of the roof is high. On the northern and southern elevations, there are four vertical "double bays", each with two columns of windows. Large arched buttresses, with two piers each, separate the different double bays; smaller buttresses, containing a single pier, divide each double bay into smaller "sub-bays". This alternation of large and small buttresses gives the appearance of four double bays with two sub-bays each, rather than eight singular rectangular bays. Carved parapets, as well as gables with dormers, run along the copper roof. Inside, there are six north–south rows of piers, three to either side of the nave. These piers divide the nave into five aisles running west to east, with the center aisle located on the same axis as 112th Street. Each of the sub-bays contain carved parapets atop their mono-pitched roofs. The center of the apse contains the choir, located below the great organ. Two ambulatory passages run adjacent to the choir, one to the north and the other to the south. Seven chapels, a baptistery, and a columbarium are also located in the northwestern part of the apse. The westernmost unit in the southern row of choir stalls is called the "Dean's Stall". The roof above the choir is supported by eight columns, each tall with a diameter and a weight of . The columns' foundations descend as much as into the bedrock below them. For example, the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries are respectively represented by statues of William Shakespeare, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. The niche for the 20th century was left blank through the end of that century. In 2001 the choir parapet was completed with carvings of Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein, Susan B. Anthony, and Mohandas Gandhi by stonecarver Christopher Pellettieri. In addition, the finials on both rows of stalls were carved by Otto Jahnsen and depict church-music composers and performers. It is located above the choir on the north and south sides, and consists of four manual keyboards with several pedals. In 1954, it was enlarged by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Opus 150-A, under the tonal direction of G. Donald Harrison. though it previously included 8,035. After two years of extensive and detailed refurbishment work, including a reorganization of many pipes and a rebuilding of the console, the organ finally returned to service in 2008 as part of an overall $41-million cleaning and repair to the cathedral.–1909) • Miles Farrow (1910–1931) • Norman Coke-Jephcott (1932–1953) • John Upham (interim) (1953–1954) • Alec Wyton (1954–1974) • David Pizzaro (1974–1977) • Paul Halley (1977–1990) • Dorothy Papadakos (1990–2003) • Timothy Brumfield (2003–2009) • Bruce Neswick (2009–2011) • Kent Tritle (2011–present) Sanctuary Behind the choir, to its east, is the sanctuary (or chancel), a raised platform.—is located to the right, while the sedilia for the bishop and other clergy is to the left. The bishop's pulpit is made of Tennessee marble, with five niches, each of which contain reliefs that depict scenes from the life of Christ. which was dedicated in 1921. Ambulatory and chapels An ambulatory, measuring long and wide, surrounds the choir to the north, east, and south, making a rough "U" shape with the two ends of the "U" facing west. Extending outward from the ambulatory are seven chapels. These chapels are known as the "Chapels of the Tongues", All of the chapels, except for St. Ansgar's, were donated by individuals or families. St. Ansgar Chapel has its own organ. • St. Boniface, apostle of the Germans; • St. Columba, patron of Ireland and Scotland; • St. Savior (Holy Savior), devoted to immigrants from Africa and Asia; St. Savior was the first chapel to be complete, hosting its first services in 1904. It contains a bronze three-paneled altar with gold-leaf decoration, designed by Keith Haring just before his death. • St. Ambrose, patron of Milan; • St. James, patron of Spain; designed by Henry Vaughan, dedicated 1916. The baptistery was donated by three Stuyvesant family siblings in 1924. Crossing Between the nave to the west and the apse to the east is the crossing, designed by Rafael Guastavino. The interior of the crossing includes four massive granite arches, which in the original Heins & LaFarge design were originally intended to support the massive tower above it. During the time that the nave remained incomplete, temporary walls were placed within the arches so that services could be held in the crossing. The pendentives, or triangular areas between the circular dome and the corners of the arches, are thick; the thickness of the dome itself ranges from on top to at the bottom. Basements Directly below the crossing is the basement, which contains the crypt, now used as a storage area. The items stored in the crypt include artifacts such as pieces of the destroyed Pennsylvania Station and World Trade Center, as well as wooden angels, plaster gargoyles, leadlights, antique furniture, and a single-file line of saints. The crypt also includes objects such as a large fossil and a massive crystal of quartz, both of which were relocated to the crypt after the 2001 fire. Along either side the basement are rooms, each named after the chapels that they are located under. The crypt also formerly contained the Tiffany Chapel, created by jewelry designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. Originally exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, it was then acquired by Celia Whipple Wallace and moved to the cathedral in 1898. The Leake and Watts Asylum had a well on the site of the present-day baptistery, and there was a spring near the intersection of 110th Street and Morningside Drive. As early as 1893, workers discovered that the ground under the cathedral was soft and prone to flooding. As a result, the cathedral has a concrete foundation. Sump pumps keep the area dry, and construction of the neighboring Enclave has reduced flooding. However, the spring still exists underneath the cathedral, and water from the spring may have contributed to the partial collapse of a retaining wall in 2006. == Cathedral close ==

The cathedral close, surrounding the main cathedral, consists of several buildings on a site, including the former Leake & Watts asylum building, which predates the land's acquisition by the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Various paths, gardens, play areas, and furniture are located on the cathedral close, as are numerous artworks and several commemorative or religious objects. but after objections to the 1903 plan from St. Luke's Hospital, a new plan was presented in 1906. Cram presented to the trustees an extensive plan for all the structures on the grounds in October 1911, as well as the never-built diocesan offices and canons' residences. who lived on the cathedral close from the early 2000s to 2023. Ithiel Town Building The former Leake and Watts Asylum building, designed by Ithiel Town and completed in 1843, is located south of the crossing, where the south transept would have been located. Afterward, the former asylum's west wing was used by the day school for the cathedral's choirboys between 1901 and 1913. Cathedral leaders had proposed demolishing parts of the asylum building, since it was in the way of the proposed southern transept, though these demolitions did not happen. The building has also housed the Museum of Religious Art, as well as offices, shops, choir rehearsal quarters, sacristies, and the Cathedral Community Cares program. is located on the southern side of the cathedral close, close to Cathedral Parkway (110th Street). It is a -story H-shaped building with a brick facade, a base of Indiana limestone, and gable roofs above the pavilions on the western end. The southern elevation also contains an additional basement story. Its main entrance, on the eastern portion of the northern elevation, is a recessed-arched portal with an oriel window on the third story. The building was originally supposed to be on the northern side of the cathedral close, but was moved due to objections from St. Luke's Hospital. and the school opened by that October. All work was finished in February 1911, and the building was used as a deaconesses' school until May 1948, and it was converted to office use the following year. The main entrance, an arched portal facing Amsterdam Avenue, contains carvings of Christian figures, which flank oak double-doors. The exterior is made of pink Kingwood sandstone. Inside is a hall that can seat over a thousand people, with gallery seating above the main level. There are grisaille windows to the north and south, and wooden trusses on the ceiling, supporting the gable roof. Cram's firm submitted plans for Synod Hall in March 1912, and it opened in October 1913 with the start of the convention. However, the hall was not completed until early 1914. The choir school was created in 1901 within the Town Building. Blodgett later covered the rest of the choir school building's cost after no one else donated, while former choirboy Frederick G. Bourne provided a $500,000 endowment in 1914. The bishop's house is west of the deanery, on slightly higher ground; the deanery is thus hidden behind the bishop's house. while the bishop's house was funded partly by the sale of a previous bishop's house at Gramercy Park. The two buildings' sites were given preliminary approval in May 1912 and were officially approved that October. and was finished in April 1914. while the deanery was started in February 1913 and completed by that November. The cathedral leased the northeastern edge of its property, formerly a parking lot, in 2012. The lessee was the Brodsky Organization, which built a residential building called the Enclave between 2014 and 2015. The Enclave consists of 428 rental apartments in two 15-story buildings, separated by the passageway leading to the northern transept; an underground gallery connects the two buildings. Both developments leased the land from the cathedral for 99-year terms. The lease on the land under the Enclave pays the Cathedral about $3 million a year; the lease on the Avalon, about $2.5 million. == Art, activities, and exhibitions ==

Concerts and special events The cathedral's interior is frequently used for concerts, performances, and other special events. Recurring events The cathedral has an annual New Year's Eve Concert for Peace. The Postlude to Act I of Leonard Bernstein's opera Quiet Place received its New York premiere at the 1985 concert. Paul Winter has given many concerts at the cathedral, and the Paul Winter Consort are the artists in residence. Among the major musical events that takes place every year is a celebration of the feast day of St. Francis, when the Paul Winter Consort participates in a liturgical performance of Winter's Missa Gaia (Earth Mass). The musical group also performs at the annual Winter Solstice program. One-time events The cathedral has also been used for several individual events: • Duke Ellington's Second Sacred Concert, of his original sacred music compositions, premiered at the cathedral on January 19, 1968. Petit was also the artist-in-residence at St. John's starting in 1982. • In 1990, the avant-garde musician Diamanda Galas performed Plague Mass, a culmination of her work dedicated to the victims of the AIDS epidemic. Galas's performance consisted of covering her body in cattle blood and reinterpreting biblical texts and classic literature. She said it was a protest against what she saw as the ignorance and condemnation toward people with AIDS from religious and political groups. • On December 8, 1994, Mariah Carey hosted a benefit concert for The Fresh Air Fund. The concert helped raise $700,000 to support the Fresh Air Fund and Carey's own Camp Mariah, and an additional $1 million from Carey herself. • The wedding of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman took place at the cathedral on May 1, 1998. • In November 2017, Aretha Franklin held her last large public concert, a 25th-anniversary event for the Elton John AIDS Foundation being hosted at the cathedral. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine has also hosted events with spiritual leaders. In addition, Bishop Desmond Tutu led a service in the cathedral in 1986. Temporary art exhibitions The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is also used as an art exhibition space: • In 1977, a sculpture dedicated to the 12 firemen who died in the 23rd Street Fire of 1966 was unveiled at St. John's. • Edwina Sandys's Christa, a sculpture exhibited during Holy Week in 1984, was based upon the feminine divine. Though the sculpture generally received positive acclaim, several pieces of hate mail were addressed to the cathedral, accusing the cathedral of "blasphemy" with its depiction of Christ on the cross. The statue was displayed again at The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies exhibition in 2016. • The Value of Water, curated by artist activist Fredericka Foster, was exhibited at the cathedral in 2011. Featuring over forty artists, it was the largest-ever art exhibition to appear at the cathedral. • In 2014, the cathedral housed Phoenix, a sculptural group by Chinese artist Xu Bing. The two sculptures that comprised Phoenix was one of the largest pieces of sculpture ever displayed in the United States, weighing with lengths of . Poets' Corner The Poets' Corner, inspired by a similar corner at Westminster Abbey, is located in the Arts Bay, on the nave's northern side. It was dedicated in 1985, with Emily Dickinson, Washington Irving, and Walt Whitman being the first poets to be inducted as part of the tradition. The Poets' Corner consists of a poet-in-residence, hired for a five-year term, who in turn appoints electors on staggered terms. The poets-in-residence and electors have included 17 United States Poet Laureates. Permanent works '' The pulpit green contains the Peace Fountain, a large bronze work of public art by the cathedral's sculptor-in-residence, Greg Wyatt. It was commissioned in 1985 and depicts the struggle of good and evil; a battle between the Archangel Michael and Satan; and images of the Sun, the Moon, and several animals. == Advocacy ==

Throughout the years, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been involved in various initiatives and projects. These programs included youth initiatives, a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, and AIDS outreach. During the Vietnam War, the cathedral was also part of the opposition to United States involvement in the war. The Temple of Understanding, an interfaith organization, was housed at the cathedral for several decades in the late 20th century, moving to Midtown Manhattan in the 1990s. Several programs have been directed toward helping members of the surrounding community. In 1971, the cathedral founded ACT (Athletics, Creativity, and Trips), a program that provided after-school activities and summer camp to children in the neighborhood. under the name "Advancing the Community of Tomorrow". In 1974, in response to a need for housing in New York City, St. John's created a program that became the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB); by 1987, the program had helped residential tenants in over 500 buildings to renovate and take ownership of their houses. Additionally, a homeless shelter, crisis center, clothes closet, and kitchen are run by in-house volunteers. == Deans ==

• 1911–1916: William Mercer Grosvenor • 1917–1929: Howard Chandler Robbins • 1930–1939: Milo Hudson Gates • 1966–1972: Vacant • 1997–2001: Harry Houghton Pritchett Jr. • 2018–2022: Clifton Daniel III • 2022–2025: Patrick Malloy • 2025–present: Winnie Varghese == Notable funerals and memorials ==

The following people are listed with the year of their funeral or memorial service in parentheses: • Alvin Ailey (memorial, 1989), choreographer • Arthur Ashe (memorial, 1993), tennis player • George Balanchine (funeral, 1983), choreographer • James Baldwin (funeral, 1987), writer, activist • Joseph Brodsky (funeral, 1996), poet • Joan Didion (memorial, 2022), writer and journalist • John Gregory Dunne (funeral, 2004), writer, journalist and husband of Joan Didion • Duke Ellington (funeral, 1974), composer • James Gandolfini (funeral, 2013), actor • Dizzy Gillespie (funeral, 1993), musician • Allen Ginsberg (funeral, 1998), poet • Jim Henson (memorial, 1990), Muppets creator • Trevor Huddleston (memorial, 1997), anti-apartheid activist • Audre Lorde (funeral, 1993), poet, activist • Toni Morrison (funeral, 2019), author • Paul Moore Jr. (funeral, 2003), bishop • Eleanor Roosevelt (memorial, 1962), activist, diplomat, U.S. First Lady • Nikola Tesla (funeral, 1943), inventor • Terence Tolbert (funeral, 2008), political operative == Visitor access ==

In addition to worship services, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine offers both self-guided and guided tours of the interior exhibits, the cathedral close, and the gardens. These tours require paid tickets; there are discounts for seniors and students, as well as for those in tour groups. Admission is also included within several New York City tourist passes. == Landmark status ==

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine complex had been considered for designation as an official landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966. At the time, St. John's trustees had opposed the move because the structure was incomplete, and a landmark designation would have required the commission to review every proposed major expansion thereafter. The church's trustees were able to prevent designation by claiming the church was not completed, using a stipulation in the landmark's law that stated that potential landmarks had to have been completed for at least 30 years. A subsequent landmark designation was precluded in 1979 for a similar reason. However, shortly after the commission conferred landmark status on the structure, the designation was unanimously overturned by the New York City Council, some of whose members favored landmark status for the entire cathedral close instead of just the main building. Councilman Bill Perkins proposed that the protective status should also be extended to the cathedral's grounds in order to control development there. The lack of an official city landmark designation meant that the cathedral site could potentially be redeveloped, and as such, two residential buildings were built on the same block as the cathedral. == See also ==