Cathedral
Uploaded: August 24, 2011
The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (aka Washington National Cathedral).
As you may have heard, the Virginia earthquake on Aug. 23 caused extensive masonry damage to this landmark building. Several pinnacles have been
broken, mis-aligned, or have collapsed. One or two flying buttresses have developed cracks, along with some wall areas, and falling
masonry actually punched a hole through the metal-clad roof. Damages are still being evaluated, and the building (where I've served
as a volunteer guide for 16 years) remains closed at this time. If you have the means to, please consider making a donation of any size
to the repair efforts, which will be very expensive; the cathedral was built over 83 years entirely without taxpayer or federal funding,
and still operates that way today, reliant on gifts and donations. More details on the damage, closures, repairs, and a link to donate
may be found at their site, nationalcathedral dot org.
Exif: F Number: 10, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/400 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 100, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 10.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 7D
R. J. Laudenbacher
August 24, 2011
Chris Budny
August 24, 2011
So sorry to hear of the damage to this beautiful building. Thanks for sharing with us Chris. Another well done image. #9624306
Melinda F. Schneider
August 24, 2011
Chris Budny
August 24, 2011
Linda D. Lester
August 24, 2011
Michele Peterson
August 24, 2011
Mitch Spence
August 24, 2011
Terry Cervi
August 24, 2011
Chris Budny
August 25, 2011
A press conference held yesterday brought some good news---the structure is deemed to be sound (although the 2 major buttress cracks are still worrisome, pending closer inspection.) Sadly, it was further confirmed that the property insurance won't cover any of this repair work, which the master mason estimated at simply "millions of dollars." The building remains closed through Saturday; Sunday's scheduled worship services are not yet certain, but the goal is to hold them.
I'm trying to look for the silver lining in this cloud; the fund-raising efforts may introduce the cathedral to a whole new generation of people who otherwise don't know about it, which is terrific. And masons, sculptors and carvers will have new, monumental work (which is a rarity, as no new gothic cathedrals are being built today.)
Thank you again for your support here, and any support you may be able to provide to the cathedral's repair efforts. #9626368
Chris Budny
August 25, 2011
Lisa J. Boulden
August 25, 2011
Chris Budny
August 25, 2011
I'm hoping to receive cathedral authorization to attempt to sell prints from my collection of cathedral images as a fundraising effort, donating all proceeds to the repairs. (All artwork there, inside and out, is copyrighted, and commercial sales technically need prior approval.) #9628822
Chris Budny
August 26, 2011
It is pretty huge, in reality; 6th largest cathedral on earth, and the largest finished cathedral in America. Alas, the repairs will likely take a few years, and more sadly, millions of dollars---all of which must come from private gifts & donations. #9632113
Chris Budny
August 31, 2011
No repair work has commenced yet; they are still cataloging all the damage in detail. After that, they will "stabilize" the at-risk masonry (which in many cases, will mean "unbuilding" pinnacles, gargoyles, buttress elements and turrets, etc. Then they'll examine all the recovered, cataloged stone to see what can be put back in place, to minimize the amount of new carving---but there will be plenty of new carving required, we know already. A debris net is going to be hung in the nave, to catch any falling mortar or stone chips, until the entire ceiling can be inspected and mortar repaired.
Thank you again, for your donation there! #9644566
Leslie McLain
October 15, 2011
Chris Budny
October 15, 2011
Chris Budny
October 24, 2011
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