The Weight of the World

This little face has a lot of visual weight on his small head. He looks so serious. I love that concentration!

He looks like he's made of limestone too, so he has seen his better days. He's a bit weathered.

This building is on 17th Street in Washington D.C.

Human Gargoyles!

You can see the opening for the water spout in the mouth, which shows the gargoyle's original purpose. But it appears that this church has had some modernization done. The large pipes now probably take care of the rainwater runoff. (I won't mention anything about the placement of the pipe.) This cathedral is in Old Town Nürnberg on the way up to the castle.

Old School Window

Here is another window sticking out of the side of a building. This one looks much older, and it is definitely more ornate. If facing the right direction this room could get a lot of sun exposure. It's exciting.

Regensburg Cathedral Interior

It's a nice church with wonderful stained glass windows. It is not really distinct on the inside in any way. It could be one of many other Gothic Cathedrals. I think I liked it a lot because it was in Bavaria and it was not Baroque.



I believe this is St. Peter in the back of the Cathedral contemplating Christ on the Cross. This is the first thing one sees when walking in.

Yesterday's Theme

These pictures are from the Regensburg Cathedral as well, but I think I forgot these Pictures on purpose yesterday because they are of such poor quality.

This is very standard quatrefoil decoration incorporated into Gothic Design.


This bird looks like a duck that is shielding something with its right wing. I have never seen this on a building before. You can tell the sculptor had seen a duck before it looks very naturalistic!

Regensburg Gothic Cathedral

The patron Saint of Regensburg Cathedral is St. Peter. There is a sculpture of St. Peter inside. I don't think I got a picture of the sculpture of him outside though. I believe the bottom photo is Christ, because there is no key to the church, which is St. Peter's attribute.

It is a grand, beautiful structure. (Read more on what made me fall in love with Gothic Cathedrals by clicking HERE.)

I (Heart) Gothic Elements & Gargoyles

These are all still from Stephansdom in Vienna.







I fell in love with gargoyles almost ten years ago when I was in Prague over Halloween weekend. It was a cold, nasty, rainy day/weekend. I only remember a handful of things from that weekend vividly: going to the contemporary art museum, walking across the Charles Bridge, seeing the neo-Renaissance figures sticking out of the wall at a vegetarian restaurant my friends and I ate at, my friend Daphne's rainbow umbrella, and the gargoyles spitting on me when I was up by the castle/cathedral.

I loved that the gargoyles were spitting down on me, and have never forgotten that.

Gothic Spidery Ceilings

This is St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna (Stephansdom.) I was drawn (as you can see from the pictures) to the repetition of the ribbed vaults on the ceiling.





I love texture, lines, and repetition! Of course ribbed vaulting holds the building up, but normally I think it is the same color as the surrounding structure, therefore it blends in. The contrast here makes it an exciting visual element as well as a functional element in the church's architecture.



The look is even repeated on the back of this man. I'm not sure if this is for structural reasons (maybe someone out there can tell me.) It really is powerful for emotional reasons though. Poor guy! How would you like to hold all that up? And look, he is still looking up to the heavens, dutifully doing his job while still focusing on God!

Dynamic Leaves

This is another Gothic Revival architectural element from Trinity Church in lower Manhattan.

Corner of Broadway and Wall Street.

Gothic Faces?

These are all the faces around the back of Trinity Church. I'm wondering if they are modeled after faces on gothic era churches. Are they saints or are they are modeled after people around New York in the 1800's?

I'm sure I'll never know.

Corner of Broadway and Wall Street.

Gothic Revival Architecture

Trinity Church is the oldest church in Manhattan. This of course was not the first church building the congregation worshiped in because the church was founded in 1697, and this building was dedicated in the spring of 1846.

The cemetery is so old that most of the grave stones are worn away so they are unreadable or even broken.

The second picture reminds me of the drip sand castles I used to build on the beach. I never realized I was building a historic style sand castle when I was little.

Trinity Church History

Corner of Broadway and Wall Street.

Final St. Thomas Post...Maybe

I don't know if it is possible to see so well, but the first picture is of the four Gospel writers. Mathew is the angel. Mark is the lion. Luke is the Bull. And John is the Eagle. Starting in the top left and going around clockwise.

Then there are three pictures of Jesus in different situations with Saints.

More Yet

Like I said, I loved this Cathedral!

More of St. Thomas

As a non-Catholic I was intrigued while in college learning about the saints and their attributes. Now I see them all the time. I love it! Can you tell which saint is which?

Gothic Architecture

I LOVE the little figures and creatures on Gothic and Romanesque buildings that look like they support parts of the building. I think my interest in these architectural elements came from going to Prague and being up by the Castle in the old area of the city. It was miserable weather, and It was Halloween, so there was an electricity in the air as well as the rain. I went into the Cathedral primarily to warm up, not necessarily to check out the artwork and architecture. I wandered around in the Cathedral and when I was sufficiently warmed up and ready to explore the city some more I emerged from the building where I realized I was getting dripped on, so I looked up into the cloudy sky and the gargoyles were spitting on me...It is such a vivid memory even to this day. I will even look around to see what images, if any, I have of Prague to post. If I don't have any pictures I will just have to go back someday.

Last week I walked out of the Subway stop at 53rd Street and 5th Avenue and just knew I had to explore the church in front of me. My exploration began with the first images here. (I will post more later.)

St. Thomas Episcopal Church
5th Avenue at 53rd Street