Monday, August 28, 2006

Seattle's Saint Mark's Cathedral

Posted by Picasa Yesterday's photo was from just inside, and today's is from the front interior, just to the right of the altar at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral on Capitol Hill. Saint Mark's is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. It was designed as a rather ornate building in the late 1920s, however, the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression curbed much of the planned ornamentation. It is a rather plain and unadorned cavernous box. It is huge and a very visible landmark from the west and north. This shot looks up at one of its classic lighting fixtures, a true period piece. I noticed it is a circle of 12 lamps with three central lamps grouped within a cross made by the supporting structure. These pendant lamps are quite lovely (see more cathedral photos here.) You can see the arch top of one of the huge windows, the rather poor condition of the plain cement walls, and the water damaged wood of the ceiling. This is a humble cathedral, much beloved, with an interesting history. It is a vital part of the Capitol Hill community, and of Seattle as a whole. Bishop Desmond Tutu spoke there in May, and there will be a city-wide interfaith peace observation held there on the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.


4 comments:

Felicia said...

I enjoyed the extra photos of the cathedral. You really captured a beautiful and unusual view with the one above.

Anonymous said...

I love those shots too Kim! Very lovely!

Edulabbe said...

A very odd, but cool angle of a very beautiful lamp. And it's asymmetric, quite interesting.

Chad Oneil Myers said...

Very cool shot!