ONE SIDE OF THE INTERIOR OF THE NAVE
(Composite Photograph of Model. Figures of choristers show scale)
Speaking of the building of the Cathedral in general and of the Nave in particular, in his address to the 138th Annual Convention of the Diocese of New York on May 11, 1921, Bishop Manning said: “As to the practical value and importance of the Cathedral, no one who knows anything of its work or of the multitudes that gather here for worship can entertain a question. Large as it is, the present space is insufficient. The Nave is urgently needed, not only that the great ideal which the building embodies may be carried forward, but that there may be room for the people who come for spiritual help, and that the Cathedral may meet its unequalled missionary opportunity. I hope that our people, and especially those who have the stewardship of wealth, will keep this great spiritual and missionary enterprise in mind, and that many may be moved to aid it. The building waits only for the necessary funds. And in the revised drawings, we at last have plans which by their majesty and beauty worthily express the aim and ideal of this great structure ... I believe that we have now a plan worthy of the unequalled opportunity of this glorious Temple of God, and of its relation to the greatest and most complex city in the world. I believe that for the carrying forward towards completion of such a building as this, of which the whole country may be proud, and for the upholding of the spiritual, social and civic ideals which it embodies, not only the people of our own Church but many others in this metropolis and elsewhere will be glad to make their gifts and to have their part and share with us.”
The Crossing
Walking the length of the Nave foundation ([2 on plan]) we pass through temporary doorways and enter the Crossing ([3]), so-called from its location at the intersection of the long and short arms of the cruciform ground plan. In this space, 100 feet square, floored with concrete, are 1500 chairs for the congregation. To the eastward, the Crossing opens into the Choir ([10]) and Ambulatory ([12-12]). On the north, west and south sides the spaces between the ponderous piers of Maine granite are filled with temporary windows and concrete walls which will be removed when the Nave ([2]) and the North and South Transepts ([4 and 5]) are built. The removal of these temporary walls will improve the acoustics. The rough, unadorned piers on the north, west and south sides will eventually be faced with Frontenac stone like those on the east side. The massiveness of this masonry may be judged by the fact that a single pair of these piers with their connecting arch weighs 4000 tons. The Dome of the Crossing, 162 feet (just the height of Niagara Falls) above the floor, is a remarkable piece of construction, the tiles having been laid by the ingenious Gustavino method without the support of scaffolding. The present dome is temporary; the permanent vault will be 200 feet above the floor. Mr. J. P. Morgan, Mr. George S. Bowdoin and Mr. Harris C. Fahnestock were large contributors to the building of the Crossing.
THE NAVE FOUNDATION AND CROSSING
The Pulpit, a memorial of Bishop Henry Codman Potter, is made of Knoxville, Tenn., marble, an uncrystalline limestone favorable for very fine work. On the newel posts of the stairs are the figures of the two great prophets of the Old and New Testaments, Isaiah (south) and John the Baptist (north.) In the five principal Gothic niches are as many scenes in the life of Christ (north to south): The Nativity, Jesus Among the Doctors, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Supper at Emmaus (Luke xxiv. 30-31). In the smaller niches are the figures of eight great exponents of the Holy Scriptures and champions of human freedom (north to south); St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Chrysostom, St. Peter, St. Paul, Hugh Latimer, Bossuet, and Bishop Phillips Brooks of Massachusetts.[17] Beneath these niches runs a moulding of grape-vine design symbolizing Christ the true vine[18] (John xv. 1) and beneath this one of roses symbolizing Christ the Rose of Sharon (Cant. ii. 1). On the base are the symbols of the four Evangelists: The winged man for St. Matthew, winged lion for St. Mark, winged ox for St. Luke, and eagle for St. John.[19] The pulpit is surmounted by a carved oak canopy of Gothic tracery, upon which is the beginning of the Gloria in Excelsis: