First a vision of faith, then a blueprint, the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is quickly being transformed from concept to tactile experience.
Rising from rows of steel reinforcing bars and tons of poured concrete, the $163-million cathedral's outer walls are edging above a construction fence that until recently blocked the view of passersby.
But day by day, the monumental size of the new mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is becoming evident. By year's end, the outer walls--a salmon color reminiscent of 18th century California adobe missions--will soar more than 12 stories above Temple Street and Grand Avenue.
Ultimately, the walls will embrace a 3,000-seat nave--a foot longer than that of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York--infused with outdoor light filtered through delicately veined windows of translucent alabaster. The pivots are in place on which the two 5-ton, three-story bronze doors will swing.
In what will become a 2 1/2-acre landscaped plaza called Cathedral Square, contours are materializing of two grand staircases, a 36-bell carillon, the precipice of a waterfall and a fountain to be inscribed with Jesus' promise of "living water" to those who thirst for God.
Nearby, the separate Cathedral Conference Center and residences for the cardinal-archbishop of Los Angeles and priests now rise two stories on the east end of the site at Temple and Hill streets. The buildings are expected to be ready for occupancy in January. The cathedral itself is scheduled to open by the spring of 2002.
Advocates of the cathedral see it as a visible sign of inward, spiritual longings--a concrete expression of the human quest for transcendence in God. Cardinal Roger M. Mahony calls it a cathedral for all people where social and economic distinctions dissolve in the presence of the ineffable.
Critics such as the Catholic Worker, which serves the poor and homeless, say the money would have been better spent on direct services to the poor. As of Thursday, $150 million had been raised in cash and pledges. The archdiocese hopes to have all $163.2 million by the year's end.
Whatever the religious and philosophical arguments, for now most attention is focused on the job at hand.
A Building to Last 300 Years
The crucial day-to-day coordination and construction of the cathedral, designed by Spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneo, is being supervised by the international firm of Leo A. Daly.
