5th Avenue @ 50th Street
Architect: James Renwick, Jr
Date Constructed: 1858–1879
Roman Catholic

This Gothic Revival cathedral, loosely based on the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, is architect James Renwick’s masterpiece and the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The cornerstone was laid in 1858 and the cathedral opened its doors in 1879; the two 330–foot spires were constructed between 1885 and 1888. It is the largest fully decorated Gothic cathedral in the United States, with a seating capacity of 2,400. As the seat of the Archdiocese of New York, St. Patrick’s is a highly visible center of Catholicism in the United States; it has been visited by both Pope Paul VI (in 1964) and Pope John Paul II (in 1979 and 1995).