Above the bronze doors at the central Portal of Paradise and above and behind the trumeau of St. John is the Pilgrims’ Frieze. The design is by Canon Edward Nason West in 1964. The Laymen’s Club was financially instrumental in the commissioning of the frieze.
The Pilgrims’ Frieze Full Length
Model for the Pilgrims’ Frieze by Canon West – Image courtesy of the Cathedral Archives, Wayne Kempton
It is speculated that the firm of Rochette & Parzini executed the plaster cast and the carving. They had completed the Gable Cross, the Diocesan Coat of Arms and the Christ in Majesty. All of these just preceded the Pilgrims’ Frieze and all were embellishments to the center of the west front. Likewise, Rochette & Parzini’s main carver, Mario Tommasi, is thought to have done the carving.
The liturgical inspiration for Canon West’s design is found in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 7.
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands…
– Book of Revelation
Left portion of the Pilgrims’ Frieze model – Image courtesy of the Cathedral Archives, Wayne Kempton
Right portion of the Pilgrims’ Frieze model – image courtesy of the Cathedral Archives, Wayne Kempton
All the 33 figures in the frieze are carrying a large branch of palm. All ages and ethnicities are present in a procession of pilgrimage. They represent the varied ethnic composition of the people who attend services at the Cathedral.
Canon West
The Reverend Canon Edward Nason West, OBE, STD, DD
Truly a Renaissance man, he studied architecture at Boston University before turning to theology. Ordained a deacon in 1934 and a priest in 1935, West came to the Cathedral in 1941 and became Canon Sacrist in 1943 and named Sub Dean of the Cathedral in 1966. He retired in 1981 as Canon Sacrist and Sub Dean but continued as Master of Ceremonies; he served as Master of Ceremonies for more than 40 years.
Not only was he a theologian, he was also an author, an internationally known iconographer, an expert in the design of church furnishings and an authority on liturgical art. A leading authority on liturgical celebrations, as Canon Sacrist, he was in charge of preparations for all services at St. John the Divine.
Among his many contributions, he designed the Compass Rose of the Anglican Communion, the Diocesan seal as well as the Pilgrims’ Frieze.
■
Our thanks to the Cathedral Archives and Wayne Kempton for the contributions to this story
The New York Times, Edward West, Retired Canon and Author, 80, Jan 5, 1990, section B, page 4
Strangers and Pilgrims, A centennial History of the Laymen’s Club of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Francis B. Sypher 2012, pages 73-74
Granite Cross and Diocesan Coat of Arms – Image New York Times – November 27, 1964
After Bishop Manning (1921-1946) opened the completed nave and the renovated choir, the start of the U.S. involvement in WWII effectively ended construction. So many workers enlisted in the military. This left the west front towers and the transepts uncompleted. Additionally, there remained unfinished much of the carving embellishments on the west front of the Cathedral.
Manning’s successor, Bishop Charles K. Gilbert (1947-1950) was in an environment where people’s attention moved from the war to the domestic scene. From the Laymen’s Club history we have this… “At the end of the Second World War, thousands of young veterans came home to settle down and bring up families, most of them moved to the suburbs. For the Episcopal Diocese of New York the prevailing changes meant growing suburban congregations and new suburban parishes, as well as shrinking city congregations, together with closing and consolidating city parishes.
The Cathedral’s Changing Neighborhood
“By the 1950s, the urban church found itself involved in mission-type work at every level. At the same time, the funding formerly from wealthy urban parishioners was now centered in the suburbs.” In 1950 upon the death of Bishop Gilbert, Bishop Horace W. B. Donegan (1950-1972) became the head of the diocese. He stated that the Cathedral would…
… not be built until the stresses of our city be ceased.
– Bishop Donegan
Nevertheless, during the Donegan years, certain additions were made. One of these was a four-and-a-half ton granite cross at the apex of the front gable over the central portal of the west front.
The Gable Cross, 1964 -Image courtesy of the archives of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
The cross is 14 feet tall and it was cut from an eight ton block of granite. It was cut and carved by the New York firm of Rochette and Parzini. They were a sculpting, sculptural enlargement, stone carving and modeling firm founded in 1904.
The Diocesan Coat of Arms
At the time the cross was made, Rochette and Parzini was engaged to carve the Diocesan Coat of Arms. The Indiana limestone slab was placed on the Cathedral in 1924. Mario Tommasi, one of the few stone workers remaining in the city in the 1960s, is shown carving the Arms of the See of New York. Eighty feet above Amsterdam Avenue, the carving took two months. It is between the shields of the city of New York and the Cathedral Church.
Mario Tomassi of the firm of Rochette & Parzini in 1964 – New York Times archives, Image Carl T. Gosset Jr.
Mr. Tommasi, a stocky 59 year old at the time of the carving, is a native of Carrara in northern Italy. Stone carving has been a Tommasi family trade. He began his work in his father’s shop at 15 in the Tuscan town famed for the quality of its marble. He speaks of marble with reverence. When Mr. Tommasi came to this country in 1926 he was one of six stone carvers, working for the Piccirilli Brothers, who worked on the marble statue of Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
On the scaffold with him is a full size plaster cast, eight feet tall by six feet wide. The cast was made from a clay model at Rochette & Parzini from a drawing provided by Canon Edward Nason West.
Model for Diocesan Seal – Image courtesy of Wayne Kempton, Cathedral Archives
■
Strangers & Pilgrim’s, A Centennial History of the Laymen’s Club, Francis J. Sypher, Jr.
The New York Times, November 27, 1964, Stone Carver’s Perch is 80 feet Aloft at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine,Page 30
The New York Times, Donegan Dedicates Granite Cross, August 26, 1964 Page 41
A stack of ashlars and other stones are stored behind the Cathedral on April 2, 2023. These blocks were never placed on the tower when the operation ceased in the early 1990s. The boasting patterns on the ashlars are unique to the stonecutter and the variety of marks of the different stones attests to that.
(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.
Closeup of boasting pattern on a stone by Jose Tapia on Feb. 6, 1981. This photograph was later used as the cover for a 1988 Cathedral calendar “Working the Stone” with all photographs by Robert F. Rodriguez.
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.
Detail showing Poni Baptiste’s boasting pattern on her sill stone on June 5, 1981.Carol Hazel finishes a block with a boasting pattern on Nov. 4, 1986. Each cutter’s boasting pattern is distinctive.Nils Poole creates his boasting pattern on a flat sill stone on March 17, 1981.
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 Pizarro uses a wide flat chisel called a boaster to create a boasting pattern on a stone in May, 1983. The boasting pattern allows to stone’s surface to weather better over the years.
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.”
Widelux view of construction on the south tower on Oct. 16, 1986.Yves Pierre checks the level on a course of bricks. The boasting pattern on an ashlar to the right is very clear on the surface.
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.”
Tim Smith chisels his boasting pattern onto the ashlar he just completed on April 13, 1981.
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).
Jose Tapia instructs Treese Robb on how to chisel out a tight internal corner of a weathering stone on April 20, 1987.
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.
Angel Escobar uses a thin chisel to clear out excess stone on Feb. 3, 1983
“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.
Cynie Linton finds a comfortable seat atop the ashlar she just finished on Feb. 24, 1981. She holds a wide chisel which she used to make her boasting pattern on the stone face. Image -Robert F. Rodriguez
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.”
Alan Bird checks the straight edge on a stone as Yves Pierre and Joseph Chifriller look on April 20, 1987.
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.
Detail of a boasting pattern on a stone, cutter unknown, on June 5, 1981.
Amy Brier climbs on her banker to get in closer to carve her figure of an Old Testament rabbi on Feb. 29, 1988. She added the details of a kippah or yarmulke for the head covering, tallit for the prayer shawl, and tefillin, the two leather boxes holding passages from the Torah and worn on the bicep and forehead. Image – Robert F. Rodriguez
The Stones That Were Left Behind
In early 1988, Amy Brier, recently arrived to the Cathedral as a stone carver, set about creating a figure for one of the many carved finial stones for the south tower. Starting with a pencil sketch, then a clay model, the figure of an Old Testament rabbi started to emerge from the limestone block on Amy’s banker. This is the first of the stories behind the stones.
Amy Brier intently carves her figure of an Old Testament rabbi on Feb. 29, 1988. Image – .Robert F. Rodriguez
Thirty-five years later, the completed stone, a gablet apex finial, does not look down from a lofty niche above Amsterdam Avenue. Instead, it sits in a heap among numerous stones that never made it to their intended spots on the south tower when the uncompleted project ended in the early 1990s, hence these stories.
This gablet apex finial stone of an Old Testament rabbi was carved by Amy Brier in1988. It sits amid a pile of blocks on April 2, 2023 that never were placed on the tower when operation ceased in the early 1990s. Image – Robert F. Rodriguez
The stones are stored primarily in two areas on the south side of the Cathedral. The majority of the stones are tucked alongside a brick wall and a buttress pier near the tranquil Biblical Garden. Another area is fenced off, sharing space with some discarded, unused or unwanted objects. Some of the stones are chipped from being carelessly moved or not properly stacked while others are developing a greenish patina on the edges from moisture. The images below were taken on April 2, 2023 by Robert F. Rodriguez.
Amy’s Stone in 2023
This is where Amy’s stone rests, among a pile of blocks and debris. Her carving of the rabbi includes details of a kippah or yarmulke for the head covering, tallit for the prayer shawl, and tefillin, the two leather boxes holding passages from the Torah and worn on the bicep and forehead. She recalls that her family did not like her interpretation of the rabbi’s face. They claim the rabbi has a large nose and felt it stereotyped Jews. (Amy is Jewish.)
This gablet apex finial stone of an Old Testament rabbi was carved by Amy Brier in 1988. It sits amid a pile of blocks on April 2, 2023 that never were placed on the tower when operation ceased in the early 1990s. Image – Robert F. Rodriguez
Amy, now 63, teaches stone carving and sculpting among other disciplines as Chair of the Fine Arts department at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana.
Amy Brier is seen in an October 2022 photo at the Bybee Stone Co., Ellettsville, Indiana. She is carving details in a panel for a renovation of the former Swine Barn, now Fall Creek Pavillon at the Indiana State Fair. There are four panels, 6’x6′. She modeled them in clay at half size, then they were scanned and the CNC machine roughed them out full size – Image courtesy Amy Brier
Why wasn’t this stone up on the South Tower?
Stephen Boyle speculates the reason for Amy’s stone not being set on the tower. He said that the carving was probably destined for the South or West elevations atop a gablet apex stone. Some of these stones were not carved in time and therefore not set in place. Amy’s finial carving (topmost stone) did not have the base on which it would rest.
When asked her feelings about her rabbi carving not being set on the tower, Amy reflected on her six years at the Cathedral. She credits the Stoneyard program with guiding her career path in stone work and teaching. “I never would have had that without the Cathedral,” she said.
Amy added, “Part of what I learned there was none of these (the stones) were mine. You finished it and it was done. The work was for a greater cause.”
She feels sad for all the stones on the ground and all the work that went into them. “I can’t cry over one piece,” she said, “if it’s down on the ground, maybe it’s better.”
■
Our thanks to Photo Journalist Robert F. Rodriguez for this series of stories about the origin of the stones in the cutting and carving operations, who worked on the stone and where some of them have been waiting.
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.
Chris Pellettieri’s sculpture near the Cathedral’s south door
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.
