A Gothic Guide to brooklyn
St. James Cathedral located on 250 Cathedral place was the spot of our Gothic space in Brooklyn.
By: Brandon Dingle, Jaquasia Allende, and Francheska Benitez
St. James Cathedral is a roman catholic church located in Brooklyn, New York on Jay Street and Cathedral Place.
- It was built in 1822 and designed by George H. Streeton, in the Neo-Georgian style.
- Noe-Georgian is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles between 1714 and 1830.
- St. James also known as St. James the Great is the son of Zebedee and Salome. Also the brother to St. John the Evangelist. He was one of the disciples of Jesus.
- He called himself St. James “the great” to distinguish himself from the others who were also named James.
- The first bishop of St. James Cathedral was John Loughlin.
- The first church was built between 1822-1823 in the fort Greene area of Brooklyn.
- Before construction was stopped due to lack of funds, there were walls built from 10 to 20 feet.
- It was the third church in New York City and the sixth Roman Catholic Church in New York State.
- In 1823, the site of the first catholic cemetery was established and between 1823-1849 there were 7,000 burials of clergy.
- Today the cemetery is still preserved and reserved as an urban oasis for prayer and reflection.
The entrance to this building is tall and the building is also wide. This building also has emphasis on decorative and ornate style. The building stands by itself on 250 cathedral place. And it is also one of the oldest buildings to be standing in the downtown Brooklyn area. It has the appearance of a castle with the high point at the top of the building. Walking up to this building at night gave off the feel that Mr. Utterson got when going to visit Mr. Hyde’s residence for the first. This building sits by itself on its own block with not much traffic going in and out the streets of the block. Walking to this church at night can give off a gothic atmosphere that will remind you of Jekyll and Hyde.
St. James cathedral is very bright and spacious. The bright tinted windows allow for light to come in so that you are able to make out their distinct design. The high ceilings and designs give off a powerful grandeur or majestic look. It can make you feel like you’ve stepped into a castle. The church also has a flying-buttress design that gives it more of a gothic feel and atmosphere.
The entrance door has ornate designs. Ornate design means heavily decorated and can be found scattered throughout the church. The huge and heavy wooden doors make it much harder to open the door. The designs on the door are different and no one was able to give much explanation on why the design in the door were chosen.
This one of the most interesting and gothic parts of the church. The chipped paint and broken cross gives off an eerie feeling. The inscription on the cross is written in Latin and no one could translate what the saying was. Also having a broken cross hanging in a church can give off a gothic feeling, not knowing why it is there and what it stands for is something interesting.
Once inside the building there was a small hallway that has a various amount of plaques and sayings from different people. But the one thing that stood out to us was the wall that was chipping. Behind the all we saw this wallpaper which was surprising to us because the words were hard to make out and the letters around the saying was a language that the church had stopped using many years ago.
At first glance this picture may seem like it is not gothic but after looking at it deeper I realized that the angel was holding an arrow and another object in its hand which was gothic to me because why would an angel need weapons and who or what would it be used on.
This was the most Gothic part about the cathedral to me because it was an element that was similar to The Castle of Otranto. These two sets of staircases lead to parts of the church that we weren’t allowed into. The set of staircases leading upstairs we were not allowed into, and also after going down 2 flights of stairs I came across this door that was locked and dark on the other side. This reminded me of the scene in Otranto where the damsel in distress was escaping danger and ended up finding a trap door that lead into a chapel that was deep below the castle. We may never know where this door leads, but it gives off that Gothic atmosphere they we have read in previous novels.
