{"nrhp_refnum":"76001250","name":"St. Patrick's Cathedral","other_names":["Lady Chapel,Rectory and Cardinal's Residence"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Bounded by 5th and Madison Aves., E. 50th and E. 51st Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.758513728000054,"lon":-73.97615704189258,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-12-08","areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Patrick's Cathedral complex on Fifth Avenue between East 50th and 51st Streets in Manhattan, New York City, including the cathedral, Lady Chapel, rectory and cardinal's residence. Construction began with the 1858 cornerstone, and the cathedral opened in 1879.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the cathedral as the masterpiece of architect James Renwick Jr. and the first enormous medieval-style church in America. It marks the point when American Gothic Revival work matched the scale of European projects. It also serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and a setting for major religious ceremonies.","narrative":"St. Patrick's Cathedral occupies a full city block on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, together with its Lady Chapel, rectory and cardinal's residence. Archbishop John Hughes asked architect James Renwick Jr. to prepare designs in 1853, the cornerstone was laid in 1858, and the building opened in 1879 after work paused during the Civil War. The spires were finished in 1888 and the Lady Chapel in 1906. The white marble exterior has a three-portal facade, a rose window and twin openwork spires of French and German character, while the interior shows English Decorated detailing and stellar vaulting 112 feet high. Its towers reach 330 feet. The nomination describes it as the first enormous medieval-style church in America, a mature Gothic Revival work on a grand scale that placed American architecture alongside European projects. It has served as a major urban cathedral and a site for large religious ceremonies.","period_of_significance":"1858-1878","architect_builder":"James Renwick, Jr. (1818-1895)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival, combining French, German and English elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition and unaltered, in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.950367-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001250_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001250/cdbda5a767-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001250/cdbda5a767-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"MoTabChoir01","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StPatCathExt1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MoTabChoir01</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StPatCathExt1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315888","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Cathedral_(New_York_City)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q624556"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/st-patricks-cathedral-76001250/"}