Then we could compare and contrast with the new one in San Francisco. I just peeked in the doors, but the door handles were the heads of rams, snakes and dragons.
St. Mary's Cathedral - San Francisco
Above the altar is a kinetic sculpture by Richard Lippold. Alive with reflected light, the 14 tiers of triangular aluminum rods symbolize the channel of love and grace from God to His people, and their prayers and praise rising to him. The sculpture, suspended by gold wires, is 15 stories high and weighs one ton.
The existing St. Mary's Cathedral is the third such church that has served the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Old St. Mary's, built in 1854, is located on California Street at Grant Avenue. A second St. Mary's Cathedral was built on Van Ness Avenue in 1891, but this structure was destroyed by fire in 1962.
Immediately following that disastrous fire, Archbishop Joseph McGucken gathered his consultors to begin the process of planning and constructing a new cathedral. The Archbishop commissioned three well known local architects for the project - Angus McSweeney, Paul A. Ryan and John Michael Lee - who began submitting preliminary sketches for the new cathedral which ranged from traditional Romanesque to California mission style.
Plans soon took a dramatic turn as a result of a controversy ignited by an article written by architectural critic Allen Temko, who advocated a move beyond traditional architectural concepts to create a bold, new cathedral that would reflect San Francisco's status as a major international urban center. To build a cathedral which would reflect the soul of San Francisco, Archbishop McGucken added two internationally known architects to his team, Italian-born Pietro Belluschi, Dean of the School of Architecture of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was placed in charge of designs, and Pier-Luigi Nervi, an engineering genius from Rome, who took over structural concerns.
Yes .. I think that about sums it up.