Washington National Cathedral (Part 1)

Washington D.C.

The cathedral has two main levels; - the Main Level (the Nave) and the Lower Level (the Crypt).
The Main Level consists of 28 spots and landmarks you should check out while the Lower Level consists of 7 sites worth seeing at.

Main Level (the Nave):

1. West Facade - the cathedral's iconographic story; - the mankind's creation to redemption starts here. All the arts here depicts themes of creation. If you notice the carved tympana above the 3 massive portals reflects the creation of day, the creation of mankind, and the creation of night. The 3 statues are Peter, Adam and Paul and the bronze gates shows scenes from the lines of Peter at the north portal, Abraham and Moses at the center portal and Paul at the south portal.
2. George Washington Bay - the heroic marble statue of the first president is a huge reflection in here. The windows abstract design reflects the search for freedom that led to the founding of our nation.
3. Maryland Bay - carved in its stone and in its stained glass, it shows the rich symbols of the state and its diverse religious heritage. The land of D.C. (District of Columbia) was once part of Maryland.
4. Folger Bay - the colorful windows depict the richness of the lands explored in the 1803 Lewis and Clark expedition to the American northwest.
5. Glover Bay - on the windows reflect the event which commemorated the promotion of plans for building the cathedral in1891, led by a group of men.
6. Warren Bay - this contains the symbols of law in memory of Charles Warren, lawyer and historian of the Supreme Court. Just above this is the Space Window that reflects the Apollo XI mission and holding a piece of moon rock brought back by its crew.
7. Woodrow Wilson Bay - the colorful window is titled "War and Peace". The stone and glass enriched with myriad images symbolizes events in the life of the 28th president of the USA who is buried here.
8. Lee-Jackson Bay - it contains the scenes from the lives of two civil war generals.
9. Mellon Bay- is behind its wrought iron gate that may be used for private prayer. On the column capitals are carvings relating to Andrew W. Mellon.
10. Baptistry - reflects symbols of artworks that represents baptism.

(to be continued on the next post)