The cathedral's final design shows a mix of influences from the various
Gothic architectural styles of the
Middle Ages, identifiable in its pointed
arches,
flying buttresses, a variety of ceiling
vaulting,
stained-glass windows and carved decorations in stone, and by its three similar towers, two on the west front and one surmounting the
crossing. The structure consists of a long, narrow rectangular mass formed by a nine-
bay nave with wide side aisles and a five-bay
chancel, intersected by a six-bay
transept. Above the crossing, rising above the ground, is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower; its top, at above
sea level, is the highest point in Washington. There are many other works of art including over two hundred stained glass windows, Extensive wrought iron adorns the building, much of it the work of
Samuel Yellin. A substantial gate of forged iron and carbon steel by
Albert Paley was installed on the north side of the crypt level in 2008. Intricate woodcarving, wall-sized murals and mosaics, and monumental cast bronze gates can also be found. Most of the interior decorative elements have Christian symbolism, in reference to the church's Episcopal roots, but the cathedral is filled with memorials to persons or events of national significance: statues of
Washington and
Lincoln, state seals embedded in the marble floor of the
narthex, state flags that hang along the nave, stained glass commemorating events like the
Lewis and Clark expedition and the raising of the
American flag at Iwo Jima. The cathedral was built with several intentional "flaws" in keeping with an apocryphal medieval custom that sought to illustrate that only God can be perfect. Artistically speaking, these flaws (which often come in the form of intentional asymmetries) draw the observer's focus to the
sacred geometry as well as compensate for visual distortions, a practice that has been used since the
Pyramids and the
Parthenon. The architects designed the crypt chapels in Norman, Romanesque, and Transitional styles predating the Gothic, as though the cathedral had been built as a successor to earlier churches, a common occurrence in European cathedrals. Numerous
grotesques and
gargoyles adorn the exterior, most of them designed by the carvers; one of the more famous of these is a caricature of then-master carver
Roger Morigi on the north exterior of the nave. There were also two competitions held for the public to provide designs to supplement those of the carvers. The second of these produced the famous
Darth Vader grotesque which is high on the northwest tower, sculpted by
Jay Hall Carpenter and carved by Patrick J. Plunkett. The west facade follows an iconographic program of Creation rather than that of the
Last Judgement as was traditional in medieval churches. All of the sculptural work was designed by
Frederick Hart and features tympanum carvings of the creation of the Sun and Moon over the outer doors and the creation of man over the center. Hart also sculpted the three statues of Adam and Saints Peter and Paul. The west doors are cast bronze rather than wrought iron. The west rose window, often used as a trademark of the cathedral, was designed by Rowan LeCompte and is an abstract depiction of the creation of light. LeCompte, who also designed the nave's clerestory windows and the mosaics in the Resurrection Chapel, chose a nonrepresentational design because he feared that a figural window could fail to be seen adequately from the great distance to the nave. Located in the south narthex, the Churchill Porch serves as a permanent memorial to
British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, dedicated to his leadership during
World War II and his advocacy for
Transatlantic solidarity. The Porch was dedicated on September 30, 1974. A triple-lancet stained glass window was commissioned for the porch from English artist
John Piper, which was realized with his regular collaborator, glassmaker
Patrick Reyntiens. It depicts the
Tree of Life in yellow on a deep blue background. The window is titled
Land is Bright, a quote taken from a wartime speech made by Churchill, itself drawing on
Arthur Hugh Clough's 1855 poem
Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.
Canterbury Pulpit The cathedral's "Canterbury Pulpit" was carved from stones from
Canterbury Cathedral, the spiritual center of
Anglicanism. It rises ten feet and thirteen steps high. the pulpit was sculpted under the direction of
W. D. Caröe. The central panel depicts
King John's signing of
Magna Carta in 1215 as
Stephen Langton,
archbishop of Canterbury, looks on.
Jon Meacham wrote in 2013 of the pulpit, "it is from here, from this rock, that preachers are given the peculiar opportunity to address not only those in the pews but those in power."
Architects The cathedral's master plan was designed by
George Frederick Bodley (founder of
Watts & Co.), a highly regarded British Gothic Revival architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and was influenced by Canterbury. Landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. contributed a landscaping plan for the cathedral close and
Nellie B. Allen designed a knot garden for the Bishop's Garden. After Bodley died in 1907, his partner
Henry Vaughan revised the original design, but work stopped during
World War I and Vaughan died in 1917. When work resumed after
the war, the chapter hired Boston architecture firm Frohman, Robb and Little to execute the building.
Philip Hubert Frohman, who had designed his first fully functional home at age 14 and received his architectural degree at age 16, and his partners worked to perfect Bodley's vision, adding the carillon section of the central tower, enlarging the west
façade, and making numerous smaller changes.
Ralph Adams Cram was hired to supervise Frohman, because of his experience with the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
New York City, but Cram insisted on so many major changes to the original design that Frohman convinced the cathedral chapter to fire him. By Frohman's death in 1972, the final plans had been completed and the building was finished accordingly.
Images of architectural details File:Donation thanks engraving The Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Donation Thanks Engraving File:Narthex vaulting in Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Vaulting in northwest cloister File:Pilgrim Observation Gallery Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Pilgrim Observation Gallery File:Buttresses The Washington National Cathedral.jpg|
Flying buttresses File:The Washington National Cathedral at Sunset.JPG|Side view of Washington National Cathedral, with earthquake construction File:Ohio placard in entrance hall of the Washington National Cathedral.JPG|There is a
placard for every state from the United States File:Lee lawrie washington.jpg|Statue of
George Washington (by
Lee Lawrie) File:SpaceWindow.jpg|The Space Window File:GITMO Washington National Cathedral.jpg|GITMO stone inscribed in 1964 as a gift to the cathedral from those at
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base File:Mount Sinai stone at The Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Mount Sinai stone File:Womens Stone Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Women's porch File:Tympanum Washington National Cathedral.jpg|South transept
tympanum File:South portal sculpture Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Detail of figures flanking south doors File:Painting of Jesus' burial at Washington National Cathedral.JPG|Encaustic mural of the burial of Jesus in the Chapel of St.
Joseph of Arimathea File:Robert E Lee Stain Glass.JPG|Stained glass window depicting major events of the life of Confederate General
Robert E. Lee; removed in 2017 File:Stonewall Jackson Stain Glass.JPG|Stained glass window depicting the life of
Stonewall Jackson; removed in 2017 File:Charles Warren Stain Glass.JPG|Stained glass depicting Adam & Eve and Moses, dedicated to
Charles Warren File:Stain Glass Andrew Mellon.JPG|Stained glass dedicated to
Andrew Carnegie File:Darth vader grotesque.jpg|
Darth Vader grotesque File:Washington National Cathedral crucifix above main altar.JPG|The
rood in the chancel arch, high above the rood screen ending the
nave File:Land is Bright window, John Piper, Washington National Cathedral.jpg|Land is Bright window by
John Piper in the Churchill Porch == Grounds including the Bishop's Garden ==