Monday, December 29, 2008

St. Mary of the Assumption


This has got to be one of the most unusual cathedrals in existence.
It's in San Francisco and I've seen it before,
but on this trip I made an effort to visit it, with Dad's good Nikon camera.
The interior has the most amazing concrete 'dome',
crisscrossed with a ribbon of stained glass forming a cross.
The dome rises high,
but lowers at the edges,
and so approaching the center of the building feels heavy and low:



The church is more closely tied to congregational than traditional principles,
with the emphasis on the seating benches,
and the shared space of the community in the center of the dome.
From the exterior, the 'dome' appears like the keel of a ship:


I quite like this building.

No comments: