The National Cathedral

The Gothic cathedral begun on Mount St. Alban in 1907 and finished in 1990.

A large crowd with many flags in an outdoor amphitheatre — May 26, 1929 The massing of the colours service at Washington Cathedral, May 26, 1929.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-3404 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

History

The foundation stone of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was laid on September 29, 1907, with President Theodore Roosevelt and a crowd of more than 20,000 in attendance. Building went on slowly, and stopped during the First World War; the photographs of the time show the first parts rising on the open hilltop and outdoor services held beside the works.

What's there now

The cathedral was completed on September 29, 1990, eighty-three years to the day after the foundation stone was laid. It is the seat of the Episcopal bishop of Washington and of the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and the site of national services.

Then and now

The hilltop that was open ground is now the cathedral close, and the finished building, the third-tallest in the city, is visible from far away.

Photographs 8, oldest first

Choir members in white vestments among trees and timber — 1918 Robed choristers at an outdoor service on the cathedral grounds on Mount St. Alban, 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 24113 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

High view through trees of a vast crowd at an outdoor service by a flagpole — c. 1915–23 Looking down through the trees on the huge congregation at an outdoor service at Mount St. Alban.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H27- A-58 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A dense crowd and white-robed clergy around a tall stone cross among trees — c. 1915–23 A great crowd gathers around the Peace Cross for open-air services at Mount St. Alban, clergy in white surplices at its foot.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H27- A-59 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A queue of people beside a large unfinished stone church — February 7, 1924 Crowds at the National Cathedral, February 1924, days after Woodrow Wilson was buried there.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 28833 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A Gothic stone cathedral apse with cranes beside it, a lawn in front — April 1925 The National Cathedral under construction in 1925, cranes still rising beside its first finished walls.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H234- A-9603 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Mourners around a wagon with a casket beside a stone building — April 1925 A flag-draped casket on a wagon beside the Washington Cathedral offices, spring 1925.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H234- A-9608 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

A huge seated crowd on a slope, a Gothic church under construction with cranes behind — 1928 A vast crowd fills the hillside below the National Cathedral in 1928, cranes still standing over the unfinished building.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-3008 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Nearby: Rock Creek Park and the Zoo · The Knickerbocker Theatre · Georgetown · Dupont Circle and the avenues · U Street and Shaw