St. John's Cathedral

I said I would post more pictures of St. John's - also in the Morningside Heights/Upper West Side area.

I've never been one to spend a lot of time staring at buildings, no matter how old or "interesting."  But maybe that's because I never saw anything quite like this.  Seriously, this place was so immense and beautiful.  It really just invoked a feeling of awe and reverence.  I felt a little sacrelige snapping pictures even. (But did it anyway, oh well.)

This place reminded me of a scene from Lord of the Rings, just because of the awesome size:

Such beautiful architecture in every aspect:

In one of the side rooms (they had several, used as crypts or service rooms), there was an organ clear up on the wall by the ceiling, which was so intriguing, I thought.

The outside looks a little bit like the Salt Lake Temple, but imagine it being about twice as tall, because it was.

And that's not even including the steeple "thingy!"

Apparently they have a lot of events here - choir concerts and such.  We definitely plan to go.

This little place was right next door - it was burned about ten years ago, and they are still trying to get funds to restore it.  It made me think of the Provo Tabernacle, and how it must've been horribly sad, as this place was probably much older.

Another place we visited in a different part of the city was St. Paul's chapel.  It was right next to Ground Zero, and they actually ask that you not take pictures, so I kept my camera hidden away.  Amazingly, the place was not touched when the twin towers fell.  It was used as a refuge for volunteers and cleanup workers in the years following the tragedy.  There was a beautiful 911 memorial.  It nearly had me in tears.  It is really something to actually be in the place where everything happened, it becomes so much more real.