New York - Cathedral of St John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the largest cathedral in the world. The area totals 121,000 square feet. Some highlights: the nave rises over 100 ft; the 1933 Rose Window features the motif of the Great Rose; the St. Ambrose Chapel is decorated with Renaissance-style ironwork; the choir columns stretch 55-ft. tall and are made of polished gray granite; the portals of the east front entrance are adorned with stone carvings some of which are re-creations of medieval religious sculptures.

The cathedral was originally designed in the Romanesque style by Heins and LaFarge and started construction in 1901. By 1910, the original architects had died, and Ralph Adams Cram took over. Cram had designed several buildings in Boston. For St. John, he envisioned a High Gothic style to blend in with the existing Byzantine-Romanesque design. Because the cathedral is so enormous, the two styles merge seamlessly.