West Front
Returning to Amsterdam avenue at 112th street, we come to what will be the main entrance of the Cathedral. In the space (now unoccupied) between the sidewalk and the foundation of the Nave will be the West Front ([see figure 1 of plan]). The tentative design for the West Front provides for three large and two smaller recessed portals, similar to the plan of Bourges Cathedral. Above the north and south portals rise two heavily buttressed square towers, named after St. Peter (north) and St. Paul (south), presenting strong relief. Above the central portal is the great Rose Window, flanked by the mullioned Gothic windows of the towers. Above these, a gallery of niches containing statues extends entirely across the façade, after the manner of the Gallery of Kings at Rheims Cathedral. Above this rise the belfries of the two towers, each surmounted by pointed turrets at the four corners, while between them, just above the gallery, appears the gable of the Nave. The West front is 220 feet wide and 80 feet deep, including the buttressing. The towers are 50 feet square, 235 feet high to the top of the parapets and 265 feet high to the top of the pinnacles.
THE EXTERIOR OF THE NAVE
(Composite Photograph of Model. Human figure shows scale)