In July, when my kids visited Washington DC, they found many places closed due to the Independence Day holiday. One of the places that was on their list that was open for self tours was the National Cathedral.
Washington National Cathedral is the 2nd largest Cathedral in the US. St John the Divine Cathedral, also an Episcopal church, in New York City is bigger and it is the largest Cathedral in world.
The Washington National Cathedral is a house of prayer for everyone, and is used for national purposes when the country gathers during moments of national significance. The state funerals of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford took place at the Cathedral, along with memorial services for seven other presidents.
Prayer services are held there when a new president is inaugurated.
Builders and stonemasons began the construction of the Cathedral in 1907 and it was completed 83 years later in 1990.
I was there in the 80s before it had been completed and I remember pallets of construction material and large equipment parked around the grounds.
The $65 million cathedral was built from money raised through private donations
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Washington on Aug. 23, 2011 causing more than $34 million in damage. Funds are still being raised to complete all the repairs.
About 200 people have been interred in the crypts under the cathedral, including President Woodrow Wilson, and the ashes of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan.
The 'Space Window'. in the Cathedral
has a 3 billion year-old moon rock from the Sea of Tranquility embedded in it that was brought back to earth by the Apolo 11 mission.
Darth Vader is one of the 'grotesques' high up on the exterior of the Cathedral. Although there are photos and info about him online, I don't have any photos to share here, but knowing that he is up there gives the cathedral a particularly American feel for me!
All photos are from our family photo albums and facts were learned from the self guided tour brochure'
