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International Club of DC Photo Gallery

Tour of the Washington National Cathedral: Focus on Architecture
Saturday January 10, 2004
 
These pictures were taken during the tour with a focus on architecture. The Washington National Cathedral is built in the genuinely Classical Gothic-style as cathedrals were originally in Medieval France. Included in this structure is the system of ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and pointed arches. The construction for building the vaults was also executed in the same way as in Medieval France by using wood framing to construct the vault, (webbing) and keystones, or boss stones to hold the ribs in place. The Cathedral has three towers; St. Peter, St. Paul, and the highest standing tower of the three, the Gloria in Excelsis Tower which stands at a height of 300 feet above ground level, surpassing any other central towers of existing medieval English cathedrals. Frohman opted for this tower instead of a spire, which allows it to then house the bells. The Gloria in Excelsis Tower holds two sets of bronze bells, a 53-bell carillon and a set of ten English peal bells used in traditional art of change ringing.

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