While waiting for him to finish up the morning's work, we took a few minutes to visit the Baltimore Basilica, or more accurately, thew Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to the internet, it was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the US (between 1806 and 1863, designed by Benjamin Harry Latrobe under the guidance of the first American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, John Carroll). And it was among the first major religious buildings constructed in the nation after adoption of the US Constitution. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, and is a parish church and national shrine.
The main facade is classical Greek architecture, with ionic columns, immediately behind which are two cylindrical towers. Exterior walls are constructed of silver-gray gneiss quarried in Ellicott City, MD. Unfortunately it was impossible to get a full front picture, but this gives you the idea....
The interior contains a massive dome at the crossing of the Latin cross plan, and the very light-filled space designed by Latrobe is strikingly opposed to the dark and cavernous recesses of traditional Gothic cathedrals.
When we got the call that our son was ready, we weren't far away, and proceeded to take him to a nearby eatery for a good lunch. Too bad our visit couldn't have been longer!
Mandy
Church architecture is always amazing
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely one of the least traditional cathedrals I've seen, at least with regard to interior light! But beautiful nonetheless.
DeleteMandy