The Historical Parapet at the entrance to the Choir is designed to represent outstanding characters of 20 centuries of christianity. First of all, it is in two sections, one on each side of the steps leading from the Crossing to the Choir. Each section is 18.5 feet long and 4 feet high. It is built mainly of Champville (France) marble, in modified French Gothic Style. The twelve marble columns are alternately green, red and yellow. Furthermore they are of Alps Green from Italy, Rouge de Rance from Italy, and Numidian from Africa, respectively.
The representative character of the nineteen men was the basis for selection. As well, the selectors reviewed their contribution to the development of Christian civilization. The Architects Cram and Ferguson designed the Parapet, Ferrari modeled them. Finally, John Evans Company of Boston carved the figures.
The Evans company reserved the uncarved block for the figure selected at the end of the 20th century. Most noteworthy the front runners in 1922 were Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George, and Charles Evans Hughes.
Time to add the 20th Century Carving
When the 20th century ended, the cathedral selected four individuals-unlike the previous centuries, and not all men. Chosen were Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Susan B. Anthony, and Mahatma Ghandi. As a result the task of carving the group from the stone that had been waiting for 78 years, came to Chris Pellettieri. At the time, Pellettieri was an Artist in Residence at the Cathedral and continues that relationship today.
Chris grew up in the neighborhood and attended the Cathedral School and sang in the choir. He remembers walking by the uncarved stone at the parapet as a youngster. After college and some contruction work, he found his way to the apprentice program. Some 30 years later, he remains an accomplished sculptor and carver.
“I was honored when the Cathedral chose me to make a sculpture of some of the most revered people of the 20th Century to stand alongside their existing sculptures. The surrounding carvings were all done in the 1920’s and it was a challenge to meet the high standards of that period as well as to squeeze four figures into the same sized niche as the others.” – Chris Pelletteri
- Untapped New York, 2/13/2014
- Chris Pellettieri web site www.stonecarving.us
- Columbia University Libraries