Top 10 Little Known Facts about St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

Photo by Asylum7830. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Little Known Facts about St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral is located in a city block located directly across from Rockefeller Center.

The cathedral is an example of gothic architecture. It is in fact the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America. It was designed by James Renwick Jr. The cathedral has a capacity of 2400. Let’s have a look at the Top 10 Little Known Facts about St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.

1. It was designed by James Renwick Jr.

Photo by Carmelo Bayarcal. Wikimedia Commons.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral was designed by James Renwick Jr. Renwick was an American architect in the 19th century. The Encyclopedia of American Architecture calls him “one of the most successful American architects of his time”.

The design also had influences from English, French, and German Gothic architecture. Apart from being the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America, it is also the first major Gothic Revival cathedral in the United States.

Read more about American Gothic Architecture: 10 Beautiful Buildings to see.

2. The land on which the cathedral stands was bought by Rev. Father Anthony Kohlmann

In March 1810, the Rev. Father Anthony Kohlmann bought the land on which the present cathedral stands. The Jesuit community built a college on the site. In 1813, the Jesuits sold the lot to the Diocese of New York.

The school closed in 1814 and the diocese gave the property to Dom Augustin LeStrange. Later on, Michael A. Curran raised funds and bought back the church. This was during the Great Famine in Ireland.

3. Margret A. Kelly gave contributions to build the Lady Chapel

Photo by Steve Kelley. Wikimedia Commons.

Margaret A. Kelly who was a widow of banker Eugene Kelly died in 1899. She left $200,000 to the cathedral for the construction of a Lady chapel. However, this was on the condition that the chapel should not be constructed until after her death.

Kelly’s sons also pledged additional funds for the chapel as necessary. Charles T. Mathews was commissioned to design the chapel and work on the Lady chapel began in July 1901.

4. St. Patrick’s is a New York City landmark

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) considered designating St. Patrick’s Cathedral as a New York City landmark in early 1966. In the same year,  LPC designated the cathedral as a New York City Landmark.

The cathedral close was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 due to its magnificence.

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5. The cathedral has 103 windows

Photo by Carmelo Bayarcal. Wikimedia Commons.

There are 103 windows on the cathedral in total. The windows are glazed by two thicknesses of sash and glass. These are set at 2 inches apart on order to regulate interior temperatures and prevent air drafts.

The windows of the clerestory were made by Morgan Brothers. The cathedral was constructed with 57 stained-glass windows. 37 of them represent scenes from Scripture and 20 represent geometrical shapes.

6. The cathedral has tombs of deceased archbishops

Under the high altar is a crypt in which notable Catholic figures that served the Archdiocese of New York are entombed. Large bronze letters with the names of those buried in the crypt are inscribed in the crypt doors.

The crypt is about 6.4 meters long and 3.0 meters high. It has a width of 3.0 meters between the rows of coffins on either side. The crypt has space to bury either 24or 42 people.

Find out more about 15 beautiful gothic cathedrals architecture from around the world.

7. The cathedral is endowed with 19 bells

Photo by PortableNYCTours. Wikimedia Commons.

There are nineteen bells at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The bells were made by the firm of Messrs. Paccard in France. They were later installed in 1897. The bells hang in the northern tower of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 55 meters above ground.

Since there are fewer than 23 bells, the minimum needed to be able to ring two octaves, the bells hang in a chime instead of a carillon. Originally, the bells were powered by a compressed air mechanism in the basement.

8. For the purposes of music, the cathedral has powerful organs

St. Patrick’s Cathedral has two pipe organs with more than 9,000 pipes, 206 stops, 150 ranks, and 10 divisions between them. The two organs are the Gallery Organ, completed in 1930, and the Chancel Organ, completed in 1928.  

Both organs were manufactured by George Kilgen & Son. Since the mid-1990s, the two organs have been able to operate as a single unit.

9. The cathedral has been subject to threats and bombings

Photo by Farragutful. Wikimedia Commons.

In March 1915, Italian anarchists Frank Abarno and Carmine Carbone of the Bresci Circle were arrested for attempting to detonate a bomb in the cathedral. In January 1951, a letter threatened that a bomb would be set off at a Sunday Mass.

However, the Mass continued without any disruption. On April 18, 2019, 37-year-old New Jersey man carrying a pair of full two-gallon cans of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid, and two extended butane lighters was arrested after attempting to enter the cathedral.

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10. The cathedral’s cornerstone was laid in 1858

On August 15, 1858, the cornerstone was laid just south of the diocese’s orphanage. Archbishop Hughes laid the cornerstone in front of 100,000 spectators near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 50th Street.

The foundation was excavated to a maximum depth of 6.1 meters where it laid on solid rock. White-marble walls were then constructed above the foundation. By January 1860, the cathedral had been erected to about 2.1 meters above ground level.