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Washington National Cathedral
Photo by F Delventhal
The history...
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The structure is of Neo-Gothic design closely modeled on English Gothic style of the late fourteenth century. It is the second-largest church building in the United States, and the fourth-tallest structure in Washington, D.C. Over 270,000 people visit the structure annually.
The Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, under the first seven Bishops of Washington, erected the cathedral under a charter passed by the United States Congress on January 6, 1893. Construction began on September 29, 1907, when the foundation stone was laid in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt and a crowd of more than 20,000, and ended 83 years later when the "final finial" was placed in the presence of President George H. W. Bush in 1990.
