[81alum]

[quote author=81alum link=topic=10159.msg91994#msg91994 date=1404754801]
...But you folks do not want to know the details about the world's fifth largest gothic cathedral, I am sure....

Don't you mean 'fifth largest "gothic" cathedral'? Or 'gothic-revival'? This cathedral was not built between the 12th and 16th centuries. (I am a big non-fan of pseudo-old architecture. One of the reasons I like the Stanford campus as opposed to, say, Yale.)
[/quote]
I learned that there is a real dispute amongst architectural historians on how to categorize it.  It was planned during the gothic revival period, but unlike nearly all the other neo-gothic buildings coming from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Princeton's chapel among them, or the University of Chicago) this building stayed unusually true to the English Gothic style of the fourteenth century.  For example, the architect took deliberate action to avoid making the lines too perfect and thus betray its modern heritage.  On the other hand, what is obviously modern about it are the scenes depicted in the relief sculpture and stained glass, including the space window focused on a moon rock, or the depiction of famous Americans rather than saints.  That is certainly not 14th Century!  In any case, since I have not taken my daughter to Europe, this is as good as it gets in giving her the experience of a Gothic cathedral. 

And this is really off topic, except for the fact that Marta Sniezek goes to school in its shadow every day!

[81alum]

[quote author=81alum link=topic=10159.msg91994#msg91994 date=1404754801]
...But you folks do not want to know the details about the world's fifth largest gothic cathedral, I am sure....

Don't you mean 'fifth largest "gothic" cathedral'? Or 'gothic-revival'? This cathedral was not built between the 12th and 16th centuries. (I am a big non-fan of pseudo-old architecture. One of the reasons I like the Stanford campus as opposed to, say, Yale.)
[/quote]
I learned that there is a real dispute amongst architectural historians on how to categorize it.  It was planned during the gothic revival period, but unlike nearly all the other neo-gothic buildings coming from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Princeton's chapel among them, or the University of Chicago) this building stayed unusually true to the English Gothic style of the fourteenth century.  For example, the architect took deliberate action to avoid making the lines too perfect and thus betray its modern heritage.  On the other hand, what is obviously modern about it are the scenes depicted in the relief sculpture and stained glass, including the space window focused on a moon rock, or the depiction of famous Americans rather than saints.  That is certainly not 14th Century!  In any case, since I have not taken my daughter to Europe, this is as good as it gets in giving her the experience of a Gothic cathedral. 

And this is really off topic, except for the fact that Marta Sniezek goes to school in its shadow every day!