St Paul's Cathedral Alteration (Nautilus Pediment) | Tremont St | Downtown Crossing

briv

briv

Senior Member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Messages
2,083
Reaction score
3
For almost 200 years the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on Tremont St. has stood conspicuously unfinished with its blank pediment facing the Common.

750px-Cathedral_Church_of_St_Paul_05Feb2008.jpg


By fall, this will be no more. The Diocese has chosen a new, somewhat controversial, pediment design by Philadelphia artist, Donald Lipski, that will installed by October of this year.

st_pauls__pediment.jpg


st_pauls_pediment_night.jpg


You can read more about the design on St Paul's site. The critical reaction on Universal Hub has also prompted the artist to personally respond in the comments with an in-depth explanation of the design.
 
good god that's obnoxious..it's like practically begging for attention....it's not ugly but what made St Paul's nice was that it was so purely classical
 
the only part I find obnoxious is the blue background, I understand it in terms of history and design I just dont particularly like it. I do find the nautilus a realy interesting and well thought out choice for a church pediment. I like it, just not the stark blue background.


EDIT: I think I was drunk when I typed this... just cleaned up my horrific typing skills.
 
Last edited:
I agree. I wish the nautilus could be without a background carved from a thick stone, using depth instead of color to bring it to life. Like another commenter said, MassArt isn't churning out master stone masons though. =/

The designer's commentary is fantastic. It's a very inspired design. I still think it will be a beautiful addition.
 
Beautiful! Especially love the night-time rendering!
 
I too like and understand the design, but feel the blue is a detraction. The beauty of St. Paul's is in its simplicity. The blue is an unfortunate choice.
 
I like the pagan brilliance of the color. I wish they also would eliminate the cheezy lettering inside the portico. But it is a nice building, a little lost in its present setting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Pauls_church_Boston_BPL_2350717023.jpg

http://www.cardcow.com/72718/cathedral-church-st-paul-boston-massachusetts/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5473752351/in/set-72157626018769698/

The interior today is austere compared to its High Victorian decor of 100 plus years ago.

http://www.paulrosephotography.com/galleries/placesOfWorship/lrg/StPaulsCathBostonET.jpg

http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2011/12/cathedral-of-st-pauls-in-boston.html

Drop in if the bums on the steps don't scare you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5473752449/in/set-72157626018769698
 
Toby thx for posting. Very interesting. IMO the cathedral looked better with trees in front of it.
 
Sometimes?

That said, it's almost impressive that he manged to attain local stardom.
 
I had no idea that guy was famous...but somehow everyone in Boston appears to know him.

I guess that speaks volumes about the low homeless level in Boston...which is nice!
 
I think it speaks more to his unique voice, begging 'style' and persistence.
 
statler said:
I think it speaks more to his unique voice, begging 'style' and persistence.
Click to expand...

That's true. I love how sometimes he'll throw his hands up in total disbelief, as if he doesn't understand why people aren't giving him fist-fulls of cash.

...though to my other point, Boston's homeless level is very low compared to many other places.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top