The National Cathedral in DC

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:34am

Anyone been there or know what it is like? I'm trying to decide if I want to be a part of a group that will be singing there.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:37am

By all means take advantage of the opportunity. I live in DC and have a great view of the Cathedral from my living room window. It's a magnificent structure and I think you'll be happy you decided to sing there.

[mominator]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:37am

Go!! It is stunning.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:43am

Do it!! I'm in D.C. too (no view) and it's a great place to visit. Among the famous who are buried there are Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller. The stained glass windows are spectacular and one has a moon rock imbedded in it. Acoustically, it's incredible, too. If you watch West Wing, they've done a lot of filming there (Bartlet's secretary's funeral) and at the boy's school there, St. Albans. Let us know when you're performing and we'll come see you!

[mominator]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:54am

I was going to mention Two Cathedrals (the West Wing Episode)
The gargoyles are amazing

Updated On: 2/17/05 at 11:54 AM

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 11:59am

Oh, I forgot about the gargoyles! There's a small one on the inside that was designed and donated by Walt Disney. It looks very "Disney-like". Ask to go up to the top of the bell tower - highest point in DC besides the Washington monument. It's a law in Washington that no building may be higher than the Washington monument.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 1:46pm

It's very big and pretty and lots of famous people are buried there. The stained glass windows are beautiful and one is made to be the solar system (I think) and it has an actual moonrock brought back from an Apollo mission built into it.

I'm from MD right outside DC, so I'm been more times than I remember, but it's really nice and I highly recommend it. Oh, and if you do go, you have to see the Children's Chapel, just because everything is so little and cute- the furniture, organ, and pulpit are all scaled down to fit a 6-year-old.

[ElTico68]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 2:23pm

Ok... I always get them confused... the National Cathedral is the one on Wisconsin Ave., right?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 2:31pm

Intersection of Wisconsin and Massachusetts Ave, yes.

[ElTico68]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 2:35pm

I lived in DC for 8 years, and always confuse the name of it and the one in NE Washington.

Anyway, Chrys... I second everyone else here in saying you should go. It's a beautiful building. Last time I was there we went up the towers and oh what views!

[Jwei123]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 4:28pm

im representing the 301! haha

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 4:43pm

Route 301 or area code 301?

[Jwei123]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 5:05pm

area code!!!...Im a MoCo baby!

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 5:09pm

Me too! (but I'm 240)

[Mamie]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 5:33pm

My brother was in a boys choir that sang there (YEARS ago) and they sounded glorious.

Make sure you take a pair of binoculars with you. There are two large towers at the cathedral and both are filled with gargoyles. One of those gargoyles was carved to look just like Darth Vader. It's so far up that you need binocs to see it.

I haven't seen this myself but I read that one of the woodcarvers carved Snow White and the seven dwarfs. They can only be seen in one of the chapels and then only if you don't mind peering up in the rafters. I'm guessing that it must have been in the children's chapel.

(The big cathedral in the Northwest is the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It's on (or close to) the campus of Catholic University. It's gorgeous too.)

Updated On: 2/17/05 at 05:33 PM

[ElTico68]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 9:30pm

Wow... I lived in DC all those years and didn't know any of that trivia... I just loved going up there and spending an afternoon wandering around.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 5:06am

MoCo represent! My house is in 301, cell is 240.

"Girls from Montgomery County have a confidence about them which is extremely sexy; they know exactly what they want and how to get it." -Washington Post

Mamie, I had forgotten about the gargoyles! Chrys, if you can, go on a tour or something, because the people know all about the weird little details like that.

[Jwei123]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 6:38am

yes, yes, the MoCo girls are quite "Mean Girl-esqe."

..and that's why I love them! Gotta love the girls from schools like Chruchill! haha

[Glebb]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 7:00am

The Cathedral was my playground when I went to school on Porter Street and Wisconsin Ave.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 7:36am

I like to think that MoCo girls are self confident because they're gorgeous and so well educated! Could be a stereotype, but one I'm willing to live with. Now what about MoCo guys, J?

Glebb - I know that neighborhood well - what a great place grow up.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 9:17am

Is the National Cathedral the one with the fantastic bas relief sculptures of the bodies writhing out of the mist..? If it's the one I'm thinking of - it has some of the most beautiful artwork I've ever seen.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 9:32am

Yes - good eye! It's by Frederick Hart who also did the hauntingly beautiful statue of the three soldiers at the Vietnam Vetrans Memorial. The Cathedral's piece is called "Ex Nihilo, the Creation of Mankind out of Nothing, as Narrated in the Book of Genesis." (the work is prettier than its name)

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 9:33am

I've got to google him - I love that piece! Thanks for the information!