(click to enlarge photos)
I confess to having first used this rousing photo of the snow-doomed-dome of St. James Cathedral for a Pacific feature on March 17, 1983. (We will include it at the very bottom of what follows.) It was, however, not that Sunday’s “THEN” photo, which was a portrait of the intact cathedral, but played instead a supporting although still dominating role in the feature. Had Jean Sherrard been taking our ‘nows’ in 1983, it might have been different, for he embraces exposed heights that I shunned then and now.
John McCoy, past archdiocesan spokesman and author of A Still and Quiet Conscience, a biography of Seattle Archbishop Emeritus Raymond G. Hunthausen, first alerted us to the decision of the archdiocese to create a centennial commemoration of the dome’s fall. I next called Maria Laughlin, Director of Stewardship at St. James, to ask about the possibility of repeating the hole-in-the-dome shot from the Big Snow of 1916 during the commemorative service. She asked, “How does Jean feel about heights?” After I listed some of his ascents, she agreed to introduce Jean to Brenda Bellamy who would serve as his guide. Here’s Jean’s recap of the climb.
“After reaching the rooftop, we clambered through a small exterior door leading into the ‘attic.’ To avoid interrupting the centennial service below, we crept along catwalks and ramps in near darkness. Squeezing between struts and support beams, we climbed several ladders to reach our final destination: the oculus, a twelve-foot- (I’m guessing here) wide circular opening directly above the altar of the cathedral. My guide had already hoisted a snowmaking machine up onto the opposite side of the oculus, waiting for a dramatic, if necessarily truncated, recreation of the Big Snow of 1916 during the service.
The main altar was dovated by Mrs. Elizabeth Foss. The ***** and Foss altar railing ***** the gift of Mr. Patrick J. Henry in memory of his mother Michael J. Henry.
“I scooted around the upper outside edge of the oculus. While below us readers, quoting from newspaper accounts of the day, told the thrilling story of the dome’s collapse, I tried out different angles for our repeat. Particular culpability was ultimately reserved for the New York City engineers or fabricators who had assembled the dome’s flawed superstructure. It was allowed that Seattle and the Good Lord were blameless. At an appropriate moment, the lights dimmed and Brenda Bellamy switched on the snow-maker, sending a small blizzard of flakes down through the oculus and over the altar below. We then returned to the cathedral floor, where young Irish dancers were entertaining the congregants to the sound of pipes.”
Raised a Protestant, the centennial show has made me consider conversion.
WEB EXTRAS
Anything to add, Fra Paul? Brother Ron? Yes, and we can promise you and the readers more twin towers. We start, again, with Ron’s pull of relevant features – including on Protestant (3rd up from the bottom of the “Ron Links”) mixed in with a few more Catholics – posted here since we began doing these weekly duties. Then we will attach a few features from the distant past – again relevant ones. (And we will surely miss a few of the many First Hill features we have managed to assemble over the past thirty-four years.*)
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1907 – 2007
Avenue and Marion Street.
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THE DAY THE DOME FELL
From the Seattle Times for March 27, 1983
Reblogged this on Janet’s thread and commented:
So much interesting information here.
All three of your “before” photos were taken after the dome collapsed and the cathedral was repaired and reconstructed. The ceiling in the east nave and sanctuary was lowered to the original, lower height of the west nave, the decorative plaster work was added, and the stained glass windows installed. The photograph of the “original altar” — was taken sometime after 1926 when the Casavant organ was installed behind the reredos and high altar.
Thanks Joseph Adam. We have made your correction in the text itself using a parenthetic remark that features it. Thereby we keep our guilt and atone for it too. (That is, I do it. Jean stays clean.) Paul