Riverside Church: a modern Protestant cathedral

Riverside Church is the tallest in the USA, and sits at a high point above the Hudson River in New York’s Upper West Side. It is a cathedral like no other, built in stone with Rockefeller money in three years (1927-1930) instead of the more common one hundred years. For this was during the Great Depression, when stonemasons and other craftsmen were readily available locally and from the flood of immigrants.
The Nave is wider than in traditional cathedrals, thanks to its steel frame, and seats nearly 2,000. The pipes of the thunderous organ are completely hidden behind an carved stone screen containing religious and non-religious figures, even Abraham Lincoln. The 20-floor, 392 feet tower contains the largest tuned bell in the world.
For many years the church was predominantly white, but the black membership has become a majority. (Harlem is close by). Social service is a predominant theme and is amply served by the many meeting rooms and offices in this huge building. On the Sunday I was there last September, the congregation welcomed Mothers of the Movement, a group of mothers of children who had been killed by gun violence or by the police. All African-American.
Robin Bennett
Forget the Grand Canyon, Disney World and the Statue of Liberty. Tell us about the little-known, off the beaten track places you’ve discovered on your travels in the US. But first, please read full details of the assignment
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