Divine Stone

As the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Southwest Tower approached, I knew catching up with Philippe Petit would be necessary. I met Philippe at his home in upstate New York wanting to capture his thoughts and memories of that day. For me it was an unforgettable day and thanks to Philippe, I got to relive it in his gracious video interview.

Another key to the backstory of that event was my friend Stephen Boyle. It turns out it was not the perfect day for the setting of the Jerusalem Stone. Steve tells me in this video about some of the challenges overcome that the audience wouldn’t see or ever know about.

“The Jerusalem Stone, the first cornerstone of the tower, is located in the second course. Most masons would acknowledge that getting the first course in correctly is one of the most important parts of a project…Since the scaffold was not complete on all four sides, it was not possible to set out the building line in advance of the ceremony…This meant we would have to take an educated guess at where the first stones should go and hope that it worked out (it didn’t but that’s another story).”

– Steve Boyle

My own day was one of mapping out the multiple scenes I wanted to cover. One man, lots of places to be at the same time. I’m thankful for multiple cameras.

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(The apprentices in the Cathedral Stoneyard Institute had cut and shaped 4,000 stones between 1979 and 1982. Beginning with simple ashlars, they progressed to more complicated shapes. More would be needed, but the time came to begin fixing stones up on the Southwest Tower, September 29, 1982. The ceremony to begin that construction and the wonderful backstories of that day -40 Years Later-are documented and presented here by photojournalist and Artist-In-Residence Robert F. Rodriguez on the Fortieth Anniversary of that event.)

-RM

Instead of walking on a high wire across Amsterdam Avenue to highlight the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s tower dedication 40 years ago, Philippe Petit could have ended up handcuffed and in jail. There were no permits for the walk, and the NYPD threatened to shut down the preparations for it because the monstrous stones needed for holding down the wires were blocking Amsterdam Avenue. Fortunately, the police relented and allowed the event to go on.

What I did was an illegal walk — I call it a ‘surprise’ walk — to celebrate the fact that we are building again.

– Philippe Petit

His other “illegal” feats include a walk between the towers of Notre Dame in 1971, Sydney Harbor in 1973 and the World Trade Center in 1974.

Petit devised the plan to deliver an “appropriate symbol to the Bishop for the ceremony.” He searched the Cathedral archives and found a silver presentation trowel made by Gorham Silver Co. that was last used in 1925 by Bishop William T. Manning for the dedication of the nave.

“The idea of building a 20^th century unfinished cathedral went right to my heart,” said Petit and led him to offer his wire walking services to the Cathedral.

The Prelude

Chaos reigned on Amsterdam Avenue the morning of Sept. 29, 1982. Stonecutter Timothy Smith helped move massive limestone blocks from the stoneyard shed onto the street for Petit and his rigging crew to secure ground wires to his cable that ran from Amsterdam House to the base of the Cathedral tower.

Once wires were tightened and frayed nerves finally settled, a sense of anticipation then spread across Amsterdam Avenue. The crowd awaited Philippe’s high wire walk.

With media from all over on hand to witness the spectacle, I had to scramble past the blocks to determine the best shooting locations. First I raced to the press area on the roof of Amsterdam House (across the street from the Cathedral), to check the angle, the lighting and which lens I would need to capture the scene. Realizing that if I stayed there to capture Philippe’s walk, I would not be able to photograph from any other position. I couldn’t be in two places at the same time.

I decided to leave a camera on the nursing home roof, prefocused and secured in place, with a remote shutter cord attached. And with an act of faith, I asked the photographer setting up next to me if she would hit the remote shutter button a few times when Philippe started his walk. From there I moved to the steps of the Cathedral for the best shots of the ceremony itself. When I retrieved the camera later I saw it was advanced a few frames and I had a really great image. (That image is the opening image for this blog post.)

Dean James Parks Morton, wearing a full length liturgical cope of pale gold and white bordered in blue and gold, surveyed the scene while Cathedral clergy, trustees, guests and dignitaries took their seats. Called “an architect, a visionary, and engineer of the arts” by Petit, Dean Morton was the force behind this day of celebration and dedication. Resuming construction of the cathedral using Medieval building techniques as well as hiring and training people from the neighborhood, men and women, was the brainchild of the Dean, who started the Stoneyard program in 1979.

Pamela Morton, the Dean’s wife, recalled the tower dedication as “an enormously high point in his whole time at the Cathedral.”

The stonecutters and crew, who had spent the past three years doing the preliminary work of cutting hundreds of limestone blocks for the tower, had a prominent place on the Cathedral steps. Master Mason Alan Bird proudly held a crimson pillow with the ceremonial trowel that Philippe would later deliver to Bishop Paul Moore on the tower. Next to Bird was Stephen Boyle, hired as Assistant to the Master Builder and construction supervisor only a few weeks earlier.  Behind them sat the Stoneyard crew: James Jamerson, Timothy Smith, Jose Tapia, Arlene “Poni” Baptiste, Eddie Pizzaro, Angel Escobar, Nelson Otero, Robert Stanley, D’Ellis “Jeep” Kincannon, Cynie Linton, Patrick Hall and Johnny Amstrong.

Pamela Morton also had a choice vantage point, from in front of the central portal, to watch Philippe’s walk.

The speeches on the Cathedral steps were mercifully short – everyone came to see Philippe!

Master Builder James Bambridge, who would oversee the tower construction, declared “For the past three years, we have been building our skills, but from today, we shall build this house.” And Bishop Paul Moore doffed his blue hardhat to the crowd when he spoke.

During the ceremony Stephen Boyle got an uneasy feeling. “It suddenly occurred to me that some mortar would be needed to set the Jerusalem stone, and this hadn’t been arranged.”  The Jerusalem stone, the cornerstone of the tower, was a gift from then Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek and contains a plaque inscribed in Hebrew, Arabic and English. “Fortunately, there was just enough time to mix up a bucketful of mortar and get it up top.”

When the speeches were done, a collective silence came over the crowd assembled in front of the Cathedral while everyone waited for Philippe’s walk.

By then, I had raced up the stone steps to the tower to get a clear position to photograph the main event.

The Walk

The slender Petit wore a shiny white outfit and white slippers, purple stockings and a purple sash that supported a holster that secured the presentation trowel. 

From the first step Petit knew this wire walk would be “very hard and uncomfortable” since he had little time to assemble the crossing cable and support wires down below on Amsterdam Avenue. He had to walk on the thinner “pulling” cable and not on the more rigid and thicker “walk” cable. All that people below saw was a graceful and focused walk to the tower.

Halfway through his walk Petit paused and knelt on the wire.

“When he knelt down there was a gasp and all eyes were on Philippe,” recalled Pamela Morton.

“I was tracking Philippe with a telephoto lens throughout the walk and then I saw him pause and get down on one knee on the wire. When he raised his arm with a triumphant smile, I pressed my shutter repeatedly and knew I had captured the moment.”

Of this mid-walk pause Petit said, “In the middle of the wire I got down on one leg to do a ‘salute’ to the Cathedral, and people responded by screaming with applauding.”

Stephen Boyle managed to grab a few photos of the walk with his Instamatic camera while waiting near the Jerusalem stone.

As Petit finally neared the south tower, he said, “I did the last step in a very slow motion” so everyone could really see that he was about to finish the walk. But “for me it was not the end, I walked to the Dean and the Bishop and gave them the precious trowel.” His walk lasted 5 minutes and 17 seconds, although to all those who watched with bated breath, it may have seemed an eternity.

The Cornerstone Dedication

“In the name of Him Who is the cornerstone…we set this stone,” declared Bishop Moore, who placed the trowel above the Jerusalem stone. Master Mason James Bambridge then spread a layer of mortar under the cornerstone, apprentice Jose Tapia carefully lowered the hoist securing the stone into position, and Bambridge checked the level of the stone to complete the installation.

A sacred and special moment followed with Bishop Moore, Dean Morton, Philippe Petit, several stonecutters and other clergy laying hands on the now secure Jerusalem stone for a silent prayer. 

This incredible artistic feat by Petit was also a great act of faith on the parts of Dean Morton and Bishop Moore. A few moments after the cornerstone laying, Petit and Dean Morton quietly moved to one corner of the crowded tower for an embrace of thanks and congratulations. And, perhaps, a sigh of relief.

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• NEXT UP – Robert F. Rodriguez video interview with Philippe Petit about the unique challenges and rewards of the famous walk, he also interviews Steve Boyle and speaks about his own special activities on that most memorable day. (regular subscribers will get an email when that is posted – Soon)

Once the eight monumental columns were in place. The Cathedral rose around them. Atop these columns came the addition of Pierre de Lens limestone capitals. From these capitals, sprung roman arches for the Chancel dome. Then, the carving of the Chancel capitals commenced.

Octagonal capitals were first sculpted in clay by a Mr. Post representing singing angels. This may have been George Browne Post, a prominent New York City architect. He was know for his decorative designs.

The carving took place after the capitals were in place. For reference, the carvers had the clay model with them.

Clamanzio Celestino Ardolino is believed to be the man in the famous opening image of this article carving the Chancel capitals. He and his brother Ermalindo Eduardo Ardolino along with their first cousins Rafael and Domenico did a lot of carving at the Cathedral. There will be more about the Ardolino’s in a later post.

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• Images of capitals from the New York Public Library, Digital Collections
• Image of Clamanzio Celestino Ardolino from The Genealogy of Torre le Nocelle, Italy: The Ardolino Brothers – Working on an Angel.

In early Gothic churches, the fundamental idea of the apse with radiating chapels was Christ in the company of His Saints. The Seven Chapels of the Tongues represent the languages and nationalities most represented in New York City at the turn of the 20th Century. At that time, the majority of the population spoke a language other than English. Furthermore, Ellis Island became the federal immigration station in the United States the same year as the cornerstone was laid, 1892.

Subscriber Funded

Donor subscription and specific donations will fund the construction. The donors could choose their own architect for their chapel. Each chapel has a different style and ornamentation both in the exteriors and the interiors. If they were freestanding anywhere in the country, they would be on the must see list. Begin with a walk around the exteriors and then take in the interiors along the ambulatory. It will be a walk through several centuries of architecture and a trip through several countries and cultures.

The first of the chapels to begin construction was the Chapel of St. Saviour. The chapel is dedicated to the Eastern Orthodox population. The image above shows the completed chapel in 1905. The great eastern arch is complete as well as seven of the eight monumental columns. Construction could move independently of the main Cathedral. St. Saviour Chapel was the gift of August Belmont II. Heins & LaFarge designed this first chapel.

Chapel of St. Columba

Heins & Lafarge also designed the second of the apsidal chapels. Mary Augusta King donated the funds for the Chapel of St. Columba. The style is Norman/Romanesque with decorated cylindrical pillars that evoke Durham Cathedral. The peoples of the British Isles are the focus of the chapel.

Statues in the first two chapels

The images above are some of the many carvings or models of statues in these first two chapels. They are shown together because of the common team that worked on these two. The architects were Heins & LaFarge. The sculptor was Gutzon Borglum. The carvers were all with Barr, Thaw & Fraser. We don’t often get the names of the carvers from over a hundred years ago. Happily, the April 1911 issue of The New York Architect lists the names of the carvers who worked on these statues.

• Charles Jensen
• J.G.H. Hamilton
• C. Price
• W.T. Scott
• L. Lentelli
• O. Burdett

We are grateful to know the carvers names and wish we knew of more individuals who worked on the great Cathedral.

In the years to follow these two, five more chapels will be built. Divine Stone will highlight those in a future blog.

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• New York Public Library, Digital Collections for the photos
• The Guide to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in the City of New York, Edward Hagaman Hall, Ninth Edition, 1928
• Morningside Heights: A History of its Architecture and Development, Andrew S. Dolkart
• The Living Cathedral, A History and Guide, Howard E. Quirk
• The New York Architect, April 1911

A banker is a bench of timber or stone on which stone is worked. A banker mason carves or cuts the stone using drawings and templates into finished products for installation into buildings. The term “banker”, meaning bench, is Germanic but came into English via Late Latin bancus via Norman French baunk. This means bench, but because the bench is where money handlers sat in the market, bank also came to mean the house of financial transactions in French, Spanish (banco) and Italian. The old bankers above live on repurposed in a new setting.

The bankers above are stone, in this case, a crude work bench for dressing granite for paving setts. It was cheaper to finish the stone on the moor and then cart away the finished product to its destination. Apparently human labor was cheaper than the cost of horse transporting the raw material to a finishing shed.

The Cathedral Stone Cutters

Several of these bankers are continuing to serve stone carvers today, 2022. They are used for the Pellittieri Stone Carving Academy, a 501(c)(3) organization They are in the Bronx studio of Chris Pellittieri. When Chris Pellettieri attended the Cathedral School in the late 1970’s, the Cathedral’s then Dean, Reverend James Morton, had begun a campaign to resume construction on the Cathedral building. This renewal of building activity – along with a childhood spent in and around the Cathedral – had kindled a longing in Chris to become a Cathedral builder.

Chris Pellettieri – Apprentice to Stone Carver

After graduating Stuyvesant High School and NYU he returned to the Cathedral and became an apprentice stone carver. After the stone yard closed in 1994, Chris stayed on as a Cathedral Artist in Residence. Chris worked in the shed that had been vacated by the stone program and naturally used the bankers since they were there. When he had to leave, he took one with him and stored two others in the Crypt. These three and three he recently built are used for the Academy’s programs.

The Stone Carving Academy

Chris is conducting a two week long workshop for High School students in collaboration between the NYCDoE and his organization. He teaches them to carve a monogram all using the same size piece of limestone. The first day they learn to flatten the stone surface.

After the monograms, the students were taught to carve a bas-relief portrait.

• Cathedral carvings by Chris Pellittieri in previous Divine Stone blogs Here and Here
• More about the Pellittieri Stone Carvers’ Academy Here
• The Cathedral School, Alumni News
• Thanks to Robert Rodriguez for spotting the story of the bankers.