St. Patrick's Cathedral
Built over twenty years spanning the American civil war, St. Patrick's is the eleventh-largest church in the world and the biggest on American soil. Located in the heart of midtown, this massive French-Gothic white-marble-and-stone structure, when built, was considered a long trip from "town," set in what was then a rural neighborhood dominated by WASPs, not Catholic parishioners. The Cathedral seats 2,200 and services are open, though often disturbed by camera-wielding tourists flocking from nearby Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.
The Cathedral, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of New York, contains the coffins of every New York cardinal and an altar designed by upscale jewelry boutique Tiffany & Co. Many of the stunning stained glass installations were imported from France.
