Category: Divine Stone

(Boasting – Shadows on the Stones is the second installment in Robert F. Rodriguez’s Stories Behind The Stones)

The early afternoon sun casts oblique shadows on many of the stacked stones by the Biblical Garden, allowing the boasting patterns on the ashlar blocks to stand out. The boasting pattern, a series of broad chisel cuts on the stone’s exterior face, allows the surface to weather better over the years. The boasting is also decorative and adds depth and texture to the smooth external faces of finished stones. 

From my years photographing the stonecutters at the Cathedral Stoneyard I could tell the blocks were cut by a variety of cutters. The boasting on one stone was neat and tight in a diagonal angle, the chisel marks clear and well defined. Another stone was boasted in a much tighter pattern while a third ashlar was cut almost straight up and down on the stone’s face.

Traditional and Individual

Master Mason Chris Hannaway brought his considerable stonecutting knowledge to the Stoneyard and the original five apprentices. He came from Liverpool Cathedral, where he worked restoring the church that was damaged by German bombings during World War II. Boasting was one of the first things taught by Hannaway – something that linked every cutter and every stone from then on.

Years ago in the Cathedral’s stonecutting shed apprentices like Timothy Smith, Arlene “Poni” Baptiste, Eddie Pizarro, Niles Poole, Angel Escobar, José Tapia and many others used broad steel chisels with apple wood mallets to cut their distinctive pattern into the limestone blocks. Each mason had an individual style and rhythm and the trained eye could tell which cutter boasted which stone.

Eddie Pizzaro on Boasting

Former stonecutter Eddie Pizarro, 63, who started at the Stoneyard around 1982, says “boasting is the signature of a stonecutter’s work – every mason has his own style. But the pattern for us was the same diagonal angle.”

Eddie adds “every stonecutter learned this as an apprentice and (eventually) you develop your own comfort zone. Over time you feel how much pressure to apply to the chisel with your mallet – the harder the strike, the deeper the boasting pattern looks. After many months of practice you develop your signature boasting pattern – which you apply to every finished stone you cut.”

The apprentices also learned from each other.

Timothy Smith, 77, one of the original apprentices, says “I got good at boasting but learned from José (Tapia) and Eddie (Pizarro).”

Timothy also remembers José (who passed away two years ago) as “by far the best stonecutter. He could cut the most complicated templates way before any of us early apprentices.”

Treese Robb, 66, a stonecutter who spent five years at the Stoneyard, agrees with Timothy Smith’s assessment. “I think José Tapia had the most distinctive (boasting) pattern. His style was rhythmic and identifiable with an even pattern.”  She also calls tower supervisor Stephen Boyle a “master” (boaster).

As far as boasting styles, Eddie felt that “Angel Escobar had the best boasting pattern – very neat – all his finished stones looked the same. He always had a steady hand for boasting the stone.”

Angel Escobar, 63, who arrived at the Stoneyard in 1980, says his boasting pattern was inspired by Ruben Gibson’s work. Ruben worked almost every job in the Stoneyard from sawyer to cutter and later became lead carver in the carving shed until his death in 1988.

“Ruben had the neatest pattern on the face of the stone,” says Angel. “Though everybody had their own unique style, Ruben’s stood out the most.” Angel preferred a wide 2-inch chisel because it was easier to control and allowed him to complete the boasting faster.

Stonecutter Joseph Chifriller, 69, credits two colleagues for his boasting skills.

“It was José Tapia how taught us all how to boast a stone,” says Joseph. “And while he introduced us to the technical aspects (‘don’t get too close to the edge or you’ll chip it’!), it turned out that his cousin Angel (Escobar) was the one to watch!)” Joseph recalls that Angel had an “effortless move-and-strike motion” as he went across the face of the stone. He also mentions that Angel, “quietly led by example.”

“In any setting, they would have made great instructors,” says Joseph. “It was only years later, looking back, that I fully appreciated their patience, grace and style.”

The sun has shifted in the time I have spent studying the stacks of stones on the south side of the Cathedral, and a comment from Eddie Pizarro comes to mind.

“Boasting on the stones,” Eddie says, “also plays a role with sunlight. These shadows on the stones reflect different shades throughout the day.

How true, as I watch the boasting patterns fade as the sun passes behind the brick wall.

But the beauty of the stones and the play of light can be seen by anyone passing by.

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Some years ago, a story appeared in the New Yorker. It told of a boy, around nine at the time, who had not spoken a word. Some manner of developmental issue was assumed. His parents had taken to regularly playing a record for him. The recording was of bird songs followed by a narrator naming the bird and information about it. One day, walking in a wooded area, the boy stopped and pointed up in a tree and told his surprised dad the name of the bird who had just sung. This story inspired Chris Pellettieri to carve a narrative sculpture – The boy, the man and the bird.

Chris was an apprentice stone carver in the Cathedral stone yard working on the Southwest Tower. After that construction closed down he continued to carve stone and became an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral.

We caught up with Chris as he was finishing up a stone carving class on Governor’s Island. Students from Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School, located in Hell’s Kitchen, make up the class. The National Park Service is a partner with the school. It is a career and technical educational (CTE) school. Its goal is to prepare students for careers in fields like historic preservation, landscape management, archeology, masonry and carpentry. One of this class’ projects was a roman arch, carving the pieces from templates.

Chris told us the story of the origin of the red sandstone sculpture, about four feet tall and he spoke of his affinity for narrative carvings.

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• Watch Chris Pellettieri’s recent lecture at Columbia titled Carving Architecture and Careers with The Pellettieri Stone Carving Academy here

As you enter the North Tower doors and step into the narthex, turn around and look up. There you will see the sculptural frieze above. John Angel sculpted it. The carver is not known, but a good chance it was the Ardolino’s. They did much of John Angel’s work in the 1930’s. This area is currently not available to the public. Thanks to Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide, for paving the way for photo journalist Robert F. Rodriguez to take these detailed images of the John Angel friezes in the narthex.

Many of these are historical figures from the crusades. Tom Fedorek has noted Godfrey de Bouillon, Richard I, “The Lionhearted”, leader of the Third Crusade who reconquered Jerusalem, and Peter the Hermit.

Inside the South Portal

Just inside the south portal in the narthex is a second frieze sculpted by John Angel. Turn and look up. This one is drawn from pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The installation date was 1931.

Here again Tom Fedorek pointed out the Wife of Bath and some of the other pilgrims based on how Chaucer describes them in the Canterbury Tales. We have noted throughout Angel’s sculpture at the Cathedral that the historical and liturgical accuracy of his work is well informed.

This intricate work truly adds to the fact that John Angel was a gifted sculptor. If we can ever attribute these works definitively to the carver or carvers we will add that to this blog post.

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• Many thanks to the combined efforts of Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide, and Robert F. Rodriguez, Photo Journalist and photo chronicler of the Cathedral for showcasing the John Angel friezes in the narthex.

Several groups helped in the building of the nave in addition to the efforts of Bishop Manning’s massive fundraising campaign.  These groups asked what they could do, and came up with some specific projects that warrant recognition.  Following are three efforts that show how everybody helped with constructing the nave.

The Pilgrims Pavement

The Laymen’s Club, founded in 1908, made many impressive contributions to the construction and operations of the Cathedral.  They ushered, took up collections and organized the publication of materials about the cathedral in the early stages of construction.  In February of 1926 the group announced a campaign to raise $100,000 to finance the slate pavement of the nave.  To understand the large amount of that, a copy of the New York Times in 1926 cost 2 cents.

The Laymen’s Club members gave tours of the Cathedral with visitors designated as pilgrims.  Each pilgrim received a token and invited to leave a voluntary contribution in any amount. These tokens were reminiscent of Middle Age pilgrimages where tokens or other objects were part of the visit to a particular site.  As part of the fundraising plan, they drew up a chart. It showed the floor marked off into 20,000 squares, each representing a $5.00 contribution leading to the total of $100,000 (the total area of the pavement was 32,400 square feet). As people made donations, the laymen colored in individual squares on the chart.  The New York Times published names of significant donors.

A Real Pilgrimage

To further connect the idea of a pilgrimage, 27 bronze heraldic medallions would dot the floor.  The medallions would represent places in the life of Christ, places commemorating events in Christianity and religious institutions.  The medallions are set in central disks of Maine black granite with a circular border of Belgian black marble.  The pavement surrounding the medallions is green Vermont argillite with bands and borders of black argillite.  Argillite is a dense, fine-grain sedimentary rock that is an intermediate between shale and slate. A clay or shale hardened by recrystallization is argillite and called slate if it possesses secondary cleavage.

On January 11, 1933, the Cathedral signed a construction contract for laying the pavement with the firm of Edward Bell. The Laymen’s Club had raised the money.  Bishop Manning dedicated the pavement on March 11, 1934. Everybody helped, constructing the nave.

In the 1980’s the Laymen’s Club explored the idea of continuing the pavement into the crossing. The idea included the medallions, but it did not happen.  The floor of the crossing remained granolithic.  A granolithic finish is a floor topping placed on an existing concrete slab. It forms a durable top surface consisting of hard aggregates (granite), cement and sand.

The Children’s Arch

The children’s arch is at the far end of the nave next to the crossing. The arch is 56 feet wide and will rise 130 feet. The two columns are 98 feet high. Bishop Manning announced the campaign for the children’s arch just prior to the major campaign kick-off in Madison Square Garden.

As you know, one of the great arches in the nave is to be built by the children and is to be known forever as the children’s arch.

– Bishop Manning

By October of 1927, $50,000 of the planned $207,000 had been contributed. On that occasion, Bishop Manning assembled almost 3,000 children for a ceremony at the Cathedral. Following his address, Bishop Manning presented medals to those children who had contributed to the fund over the past year. Everybody helped, constructing the nave.

The Women’s Transept

Though technically not “the Nave”, this same period saw the Bapistry and North Transept undertaken.

Mrs. Edmund L. Bayliss, Chairman of the Women’s Division of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Campaign, gives the signal for the steam shovel to start excavating for the women’s transept. At the right is Bishop William T. Manning.

Dedicated as the women’s transept, funding came 100% from the contributions of women. Sadly, the women’s transept was never completely finished. This was likely due to the events of Pearl Harbor, the outbreak of war and the curtailment of construction. Its incomplete structure later became an exhibit area and the gift shop. A fire on December 18, 2001 destroyed the structure.

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• Strangers and Pilgrims: A centennial history of the Laymen’s Club of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Sypher, F.J.
• New York Times archives
• A description of The Pilgrim’s Pavement in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Dean Milo Hudson Gates.

As. we close out year three of the Divine Stone Project, we thank all of our readers, supporters and contributors. This year we posted 21 stories, the total for the project is now 90 small dives into the amazing story of the stonework at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The archives contain all of these. The stories roll on and we’ll keep them coming.

Looking Back.

With sadness, we celebrated the life of Jose Tapia whose spirit is imprinted on the the Southwest Tower. Robert F. Rodriguez authored a 40th anniversary post along with photos and videos on the dedication ceremony for the tower. Additionally, he produced a unique video interview with Philippe Petit about his memories of that day. Wayne Kempton, Archivist, and Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide continue to bless us with supportive information and insights.

Mark and I presented the stone work history of the Cathedral at the 18th annual Stonework Symposium in October of 2022. This event was sponsored by The Stone Foundation. Additionally, Mark Saxe acquired access to John Barton’s slide image library from his time at the Cathedral. John was the Architect-in-Residence during the Dean Morton era. Stephen Boyle reached back and provided descriptions and methods of setting the stone on the Tower.

Looking Forward

We are rounding the corner on the construction of the majestic Nave which will end with a focus on the West Front. There was some carving activity on the West Front in the 1960’s and we will cover that and some special contributions by Canon West. Shortly, we will be back to the Dean Morton era and more stories about the cutters, carvers and setters of that period.

We always welcome comments, suggestions, guest authors and storytellers. Please help keep the stories roll on.

Stay well and safe,

Roger Murphy & Mark Saxe

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