On the opposite side of the avenue and slightly to the left is the magnificent St Patrick's Cathedral, built in the neo-Gothic style.  The construction of what was at that time the largest Roman Catholic Church in the USA began in 1858 and ended, having experienced several interruptions, in 1879. The Cathedral is in truth very large - 120 meters in length and almost 50 meters wide with the bell towers almost 100 meters high.  It can hold almost 2,200 people.  The architect, James Renwick, Jr. designed the project using as a model the well known Gothic cathedral of Cologne, but slightly smaller in size. The massive bronze doors with sculptures of saints guard the entrance to the church. The interior arches are so high that directly underneath them there is almost complete darkness.  The acoustics of the Cathedral are considered fine and unrepeatable.  The Cathedral is constructed of brick faced with beautiful marble both inside and outside.  The arches of the cathedral equally distribute the weight of the ceiling which permitted the architect to design large windows to brighten the building with sunlight.  The church is particularly impressive on the inside lit up through stain glass windows which are 8 meters tall. Among the Saints whose images are on the entrance doors is the first canonized Catholic American woman, Elizabeth Anne Seton.  Inside the cathedral there is a small altar with a bonze statue of St Elizabeth Seton. The Altar of the Sacred Heart, located to the right of the main sanctuary attracts the largest number of believers.  The main shrine of this chapel is the image of the Virgin Mary of Guadeloupe.  At the rear of the Cathedral is the Lady Chapel, a place reserved for prayer and devotion.Photo Saint Patrick's Cathedral by Gildardo Sánchez is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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