Page 152 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

What’s inside the

Washington National

Cathedral? What makes the USA’s second-largest

church its most important?

ith its roots stretching back to the What to look out for
birth of the United States of
WAmerica and construction lasting From Star Wars to World War II,

83 years, Washington National Cathedral – also you’ll find it inside the Washington
National Cathedral
known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter
and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Darth Vader
Washington – is the historical and spiritual On the ‘dark side’ of the tower is a
carved grotesque based on Star Wars
heart of the nation. villain Darth Vader, designed by
A “great church for national purposes” was 13-year-old Chris Rader in 1985.

first proposed in 1791, 15 years after the
American colonies declared their
independence from Great Britain, during the Cathedral
ambitious construction of Washington, DC, as a Carousel
purpose-built capital for the proud new nation.
Not something you’d typically
Though proposed during the administration expect to find within the grounds

of the first US president, George Washington, of a church, the All Hallows Guild
the foundation stone (taken from Bethlehem) Carousel was built in the 1890s by
on the English-style neogothic cathedral was the Merry-Go-Round Company of
Cincinnati and was used in
eventually laid down over a century later, on
travelling county fairs across the
29 September 1907 in the presence of the 26th States.
US president, Theodore Roosevelt. It was only A rare all-wood carousel with a

officially completed on 29 September 1990, brass pipe organ, it has 24
hand-carved and brightly painted
when the last decorative finial stone was

animals and two chariots for
installed in the presence of the 41st president, seating, which rise and fall as the
George HW Bush (the father of George W Bush). carousel rotates around the centre
The end result is more than 152 metres (500 pole, which is driven by a petrol
feet) long from west to east and its central engine.
It was purchased by the All
tower is just under 92 metres (302 feet) tall,
Hallows Guild, the body that looks
making Washington National Cathedral the after the grounds of the
world’s sixth-largest cathedral and the second Washington National Cathedral, in
largest in the United States. 1963 to bring a carnival
atmosphere to open-air events.
Although the cathedral remained
Now, the beautiful antique
unfinished for much of the 20th century, the carousel is brought out only once

central Bethlehem Chapel was opened in 1912 a year and is on the National
for services, including the state funerals for Register of Historic Places in its
presidents Dwight D Eisenhower, Gerald Ford own right as one of only two
all-wood carousels left in the
and Ronald Reagan, and memorials for several
United States.
other US presidents.
Washington National Cathedral also held
memorials for important figures such as the West facade

The cathedral’s

first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, and west facade shows
former South African president Nelson the creation story
Mandela, as well as during moments of from the Bible.
national mourning such as the 11 September
terrorist attacks in 2001 and the end of the A beautiful hand-carved elephant on
the All Hallows Guild Carousel
Vietnam War.
152 How It Works