June 2022 - Divine Stone

Fairplay's Elijah — Nicholas Fairplay with his finished work. Photo by Robert F. Rodriguez

Master Builder James Bambridge had in mind to erect the pinnacle on the West Front simultaneous to the Southwest Tower. Based on the Cram designs, this would include the 9 1/2 foot statue of Elijah. On the same level and towards the Northwest Tower would be the same size statue of Moses. Fairplay’s Elijah was carved to meet these designs.

West Front design by Ralph Adams Cram – Circle indicates the statue of Elijah.

Around late 1985, while Nick Fairplay taught carving to the apprentices in the stoneyard, he began carving the statue of Elijah. The process started with a full size model.

The stone yard received truckloads of rough quarried blocks from the Indiana quarry. A dimensional block sized for the statue would have been a custom order. Fairplay made due with what was in the yard and that required the statue to be made of two pieces. The head and shoulders are a separate piece of limestone.

Rough Quarry Blocks 1980 — View of raw limestone blocks stacked and waiting to be cut, April 13, 1981. The lower stone, third from the right, bears the destination – St. John – written in crayon on the side. – Photo and Caption Robert F. Rodriguez

Fairplyay's Elijah — Nicholas Fairplay rough cuts his three-ton block of limestone on March 19, 1986 from which will emerge his a nine-and-one-half-foot Elijah. – Photo and Caption Robert F. Rodriguez

Perspective and Foreshortening

In his previous training and work on churches in England, Nick had observed the uniqueness of statues that were very high up on the structures. He also found examples inside the Houses of Parliament when he worked on restoration there. Enlarged, often bizarre shaped heads, were made so that the viewer from far below got a normal vision of the piece.

The head of Fairplay’s Elijah would be at an elevation of 250 feet above the bottom of the Cathedral. The best view would be across Amsterdam Avenue and down a bit on 110th Street. Medieval carvers would angle the piece on a hinged contraption, getting the correct degree to correspond with the angle of the most likely view of the person on the ground or floor. The drapery as well will appear flared out from the viewers perspective. Nick placed his stone at a 60 degree angle to get this perspective correct. The statue is a stylized sculpture meant for the viewer on the street.

Nicholas Fairplay works on the folds of his carving of the prophet Elijah on June 2, 1986. Fairplay works on a three-ton block of limestone that will turn into a nine-and-one-half-foot Elijah. To the right is his full-size clay model. Photo and Caption by Robert F. Rodriguez

Fairplay’s Elijah

Fairplay studied 14th Century sculptures to arrive at his likeness for Elijah. Unlike many of his predecessors at the Cathedral, he created the sculpture and then carved the likeness in stone by himself, by hand. He used a pointing machine to translate the detail of the model to the stone. Climbing up to work on the upper portion, then back down to find another tool, or shifting to the other side added many hours to the carving of this large statue.

Nick Encounters Master Carver Palumbo

Nick told us a story about when John Walsh took the whole stone yard to visit and tour the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He found himself in the office of Vincenzo Palumbo, Master Stone Carver, talking about statues. Mr. Palumbo referred to a statue he had carved and was proud to say that he transferred 4,000 points from the model. He asked Nick how many points he used for Elijah. Nick responded that he used 100 points. Mr. Palumbo told him to “get out, and don’t come back”.

Elijah Not Seen

Due to a change in focus, the pinnacle and tympanum were not built. There was no niche for Elijah. At first, The statue was on view near the Narthex. After some time, Elijah disappeared . We began asking around about the whereabouts of the statue, very few remembered it. Robert Rodriguez remembered Chris Pellettieri pointing at something in the crypt recently and saying “that’s Nick’s statue”. Robert had Chris take him back to the spot so he could document Elijah’s existence.

Elijah – Head and Shoulders, blanket wrapped in the Crypt – Image Robert F. Rodriguez

We are glad this unique carving has been stored and preserved. Hopefully one day the world will see Fairplay’s Elijah in his intended destination.

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We are grateful to Robert Rodriguez for documenting the creation of Elijah some 36 years ago and his present day location.
Thanks to Chris Pellettieri for remembering where Elijah is resting.
More about Nick Fairplay at fairplaystonecarver.com

Stephen Boyle, Master Mason and Robert F. Rodriguez Photo Journalist take us up on the Southwest Tower. This is where the fixing of stones took place some 35 years ago.

“The vertical face planes of the buttress’ inside corner are being aligned at the top arris using a level as a straight edge. Edgar Reyes is at the ready to ‘adjust’ stone’s position by use of a raw hide hammer.”
-Steve Boyle

Steve on the Southwest Tower — View of construction on the east wall of the tower as construction supervisor Stephen Boyle pushes mortar in between stones on July 11, 1988 – Image Robert F. Rodriguez

This shot of the East elevation shows the upper portion of the concrete ring beam being encased with stone on the exterior, and brick on the inside wall replacing much of the hearting for several courses which was normally brick, scrap stone or concrete block. “In the foreground showing the SE buttresses there is a split pin lewis that was inserted into the hole drilled into the top bed of the stones (holes can be seen on the 3 buttress stones) enabling them to be hoisted and subsequently set on the wall. The top of the picture shows part of the monorail system used for setting stone and moving materials around the job. Top left corner shows the electric hoist with a wheel barrow full of mortar attached, this was the hoist that did the initial pick when materials came out of the elevator.
“The short beam from which it was suspended over the landing platform connected to the SE corner of the monorail system and a load could be transferred either to the south or east elevations. When this picture was taken the height of the tower had increased to the point where the head room between the wall and the monorail was so reduced that it had become difficult to set stones because of the shortness in the length of chain. (The longer the chain, the greater the ease in positioning a stone in its precise location). Only one more course, the cornice would be installed before the monorail and its support beams would be dismantled and a further 30 feet of scaffolding added. Dismantling was also necessary at this time to allow installation of the bell frame steel.”
– Steve Boyle

“Occasionally, a stone would not fit for one reason or another (out of square slightly too big in height, too long etc.) If only slight modification was needed, the piece would be dressed by the building crew. It saved time rather than to return it to the shop. This is being undertaken in the picture.”
– Steve Boyle

Cornice stone — Aug. 1988. The carving on the stone being fixed is by Joseph Kincannon.- Image Robert F. Rodriguez

“Lowering a stone into position, the first course of the “C” zone. This during the architecture students summer program. Note the short length of the lifting chain. The cornice would be the last course to be set before the Bell Frame was erected. Then the next 30 feet of scaffolding installed.”
-Steve Boyle

“When chain hoists were not in use we would stow the chains to prevent the slack from being blown around by the wind, potentially causing damage to the stone and entanglement.”
– Steve Boyle

The Master Mason looks forward

“….by this point, the tower construction had really gained momentum and the completion although a long way off was seeming as if it could become a reality. I felt we’d all come a long way since the first corner stone was set in the fall of 1982 and was excited about the prospect of actually being around when the last pinnacles of the tower were in place. Quite a few apprenticeships had been completed and there were now a number of skilled, talented and productive artisans. We had completed fabrication and installation of “A” and “B” zones, the B zone gablets being the most exciting and challenging installation that any of us had been involved in. The stone shop was turning out a large volume of highly skilled trade work and the carving shop was well established and exploding with artistic talent.

Installation of the of the “C”zone was well underway, the reinforced concrete ring beam that tied everything together below the bell frame had been installed (the installation of reinforcing bars and form work all accomplished in house), the “E”Zone was in the process of fabrication and the plans for the bell frame were in the works. The setting crew was looking forward to speeding up the operation because the “D” zone, the next section of the tower, had fewer stones in each course due to the spaces created by the window openings of the Bell chamber and the mullions that had been machined in Indiana would run through several courses so it would be like setting 3 stones at once in some areas. After the D zone, there would be more exciting and challenging work setting the triple arches for the roof support and the arches which topped off the louvered bell chamber windows. From then on it was still more interesting work all the way to the top of the crowning pinnacles, icing on the cake.

Sadly we didn’t know that we were in fact close to the end of the Tower construction due to lack of funds. There would be a short intense burst of activity with the installation of the bell frame, the “C” zone weathering courses and a small section of the “D” zone before the plug was finally pulled for Cathedral work. The focus thereafter would be on commercial work the profits from which it was hoped would eventually fund the completion of the Tower.” -Stephen Boyle

From my Viewpoint…Robert F. Rodriguez

Photographing on the Tower presented numerous challenges. In many cases I could not back up enough to get the right angle. I was working on the same narrow and precarious planks as the crew so I had to be creative and resourceful. Depending upon how many levels of planks were available I could shoot above or below the work being done. I was comfortable enough climbing around the pipes to get into a better position. One time (and only once, thankfully) I was photographing above the work and I dropped a lens. Luckily it wasn’t a long drop and the lens hit mainly on its rubber lens hood so no damage to the equipment or any of the crew.

I also borrowed or rented several “ultrawide” lenses or cameras to give a different look to the work. The trick with using ultrawide equipment is to minimize the distortion so that all the lines of stones were not severely out of wack.Being up on the tower on a wonderful summer afternoon was also a great treat. I had fabulous vistas in all directions and I tried to incorporate those views into many of the photographs. When the course with all the carved figures was in place I managed to get the carvers to pose next to the work – Cynie Linton pictured with her Pilgrim of Santiago de Campostella, Rubin Gibson with his lion figure and Jeep Kincannon next to his greenman. I also got Dean Morton to pose with a carving by Joseph Kincannon on one of the corners. It’s my favorite portrait of the Dean. As work progressed I started planning on how I would photograph the last stone in the tower being set into place. Could I get into a bucket on a crane as the last pinnacle was set? Could I have the workers build me an extra platform allowing me a clear angle? I was even looking into a balloon with the camera mount on it – in the days before drones. But none of that came to pass as the tower is now a half-built monument. Whenever I pass the Cathedral I look up and see the work of the stone masons and savor the times I spent there. – Robert F. Rodriguez

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