As it was said, San Jose, which used to be the first capitol of California, can be considered as one of the oldest cities in the United States with its great historical depth and cultural influence. Importantly, San Jose is also well known by some specific landmarks, which have contributed to make the city be one of the attractive destinations for the tourists when they come to America. With the diversity and mixture of social and cultural features, San Jose has plenty of particular public buildings, architectures, and places, which are dedicated to different styles of art. Locating on the downtown of San Jose, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph can be viewed as one of the most important religious symbol the city, as it is also called to …show more content…
“ the Jewel of San Jose”. Notably, the history of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph has gone ups and down with the development and background of San Jose through many changes and remarkable historic events.
And even until now, according to Marjorie Pierce, the author of San Jose and Its Cathedral, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is the heart and soul of the city because of its strong religious belief and the connection to the city’s past, present, and future.
In 1777, El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, as San Jose in the present, was founded, which had opened a new history for California. It was the first civilian town of the Spanish colony in Alta California. Since everything had already settled down in the pueblo, the original church was started to construct based on the desire and yearning for a religious place of the civilians in the pueblo. In the 12th day of July 1803, the first St. Joseph Church was built on the corner of Market and San Fernando Street. A lots of hand of the civilians, from men, women to children, and even Indians, were given to construct the building because it was everyone’s religious hope. According to some readings, the material that was used to build this first church was brick, the adobe ones. It was covered with a thatched roof, and spectacularly, the windows were designed that they were narrow outside but wider inside. The first church was finished on March 19th, and
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since then, it had become an important place of the pueblo to have meetings, religious festivals, and holy days ceremonies. After the period that Mexico took over Alta California from the Spain colony since 1822, the population in the pueblo got bigger. At that time, earthquakes happened and damaged greatly to the pueblo, and the Church started to have some crakes on the wall. However, due to the earthquake in 1822, the Church was seriously damaged, especially the roof. After that, the departure of the last Spanish Franciscans began for a new second pueblo church’s construction. In 1846, the second adobe church was completed, thanks to the contribution of three powerful families, the Picos, the Sunols, and the Bernals, and other old ones in the pueblo. The second church was as the same as the first one, but longer and wider with the tile roof. In the 1840s, the massive coming of Americans and Europeans to California had remark the effect to the pueblo and its own church. Many years after, the Mexican War and the Gold Rush had made some significant changes in the pueblo. In 1851, Archbishop Sadoc Alemany, who was appointed as the pope to be Bishop of Monterey and California, entrusted parish to Jesus priests. St. Joseph’s had become a Parish. After the Americans took over California, in the 1850s, the pueblo had some colorful changes with the increasing in agricultural products, fields and new applications. About the second church, it was then renewed a little because of its weaken state by covering in brick and added two towers. However, this didn’t last long. The mass earthquake on October 4th, 1868 had swept over not only San Jose, but also the whole state. This alarmed the condition of the St. Joseph Church and also it was a sign for a new church to set up. In 1868, the construction began on the 3rd church, with the improvement when the architect, Theodore Lenzen designed it to be larger for the growing city. It was built of wood with brick trim, along with twin towers. Unfortunately, after 5 years of its completion, the church was destroyed by fire in 1875. The church was actually built by wood with the expectation to avoid the earthquake in California; however, the result happened unexpectedly. Following with many natural disasters and an accident, the St. Joseph Church fathers paid their attention to the plan of making a whole new church. The architect who was chosen for the new construction of St. Joseph was Bryan James Clinch, an artistic of the classical Renaissance art and architecture. He was an Irish-born architect, who was marked by his professional and knowledgeable in architecture when he successfully reconstructed the Santa Clara Mission after the 1868 earthquake. Bryan Clinch also designed the Boy’s Chapel at Santa Clara, which was the only one maintained its condition better than any brick building after the earthquake in 1906. Moreover, numerous churches and institutions, such as Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento; St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Berkeley; St. Mary’s Church and St. Anthony’s Church, Oakland… and so on have proved the talented and notable workings of art of the architect Bryan Clinch. His expert at architecture also is shown through his writings, one of them is the book California and Its Missions. On March 19th, 1876, the first cornerstone was laid for the fifth and also present church on the occasion of the Feast of St. Joseph. After many years of being damaged by the nature disasters, the St. Joseph Church, known nowadays as Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, have maintained its structure since the fifth version church constructed by Bryan James Clinch. He was the one who formed the spectacular structure for the Church by his design with some traits influenced by the European art style. Being inspiration with the artistic and architectural features of the classis European art, particularly the Renaissance architecture, Bryan Clinch had adapted the style of this architectural period into some elements of Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. One of the most typical and well-known buildings of the Renaissance is St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy, which can be taken as an example. The most remarkable similarity between these two buildings is the Greek Cross plan design. Both of the two churches have a T-form structure. This cross form is such a symbolic for the Early Christian and the figure of the religion. Moreover, Bryan also adapted the idea of having dome for Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. However, while Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph got a full cruciform with the uniformity of the four transepts by shorten the nave, St. Peter’s Basilica has the snowflake complexity, which was a grand development and idea of Michelango when he renewed the Church plan. In addition, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica was put upwards and surrounding with the circle of glass windows, on the other hand, the dome of Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph given the closer feeling with the frescoes surrounding it. Furthermore, it is clearly seen that St. Peter’s Basilica gets the main and brightest light from the biggest dome. On the other hand, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph receives the sunlight not only through its dome, but also through its huge number of stained - glass windows. This feature is also can be considered as the outstanding characteristic of this church. On the day when the first cornerstone was laid for the fifth church, it was received the public attention, from the residence of San Jose to the mass media of the community.
It could be considered the most important and solemn event at that time, with many ceremonies had been carried out. This has proved this piece of art and religious belief was widely accepted and expected by critics and the public. And then, on April 22nd, 1876, the dedication ceremony was conducted to the fifth and present structure, with the attendance of the Archbishop as well as the San Jose civilians after this church was put into its first service. The interest of the public in this building at that time could proceed from the deeply faith in the religion, and also the hope to the powerful existence of solemnly St. Joseph Church. The church didn’t have any serious structural problems when the earthquake in 1906 happened, just some interior features damaged. However, thanks to the decision on renovation of the church previously, it could survive after another earthquake in 1989. In 1985, Vatican approved St. Joseph Church as Cathedral of the Diocese of San Jose. Following with that honor, in 1997, Saint Joseph Cathedral is granted Basilica status from the Vatican, because of the acknowledgement of its deep history, architectural beauty and the service to the community. The name Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph has come into the
present. St. Joseph’s has played a role as the solemn place for people whom with their faithful and religious belief, as well as the proudly symbolic structure of the whole citizen of San Jose. According to the Bishop DuMaine, St. Joseph’s is not only a place for Catholic worship, but it is also the public place to be shared for the whole community, from parishioners, tourists who want to view this spectacular building, historians, scholars to artists, workers… and so on. With the contributions of a lot of people, the Church still nobly stands powerful until now. Importantly, based on its importance, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is listed as California Historian Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
The church's architecture over all is simple. It is 24 by 34 square feet and set on a stone wall. It is a frontier style cabin and is made from hand hewn logs, which are notched at each end so that they fit together snugly at the corners. The roof is shingled...
The San Diego Mormon Temple bases its architecture on gothic roots; where the epitome of early gothic architecture is the Chartres Cathedral in France. The Mormon Temple is made of white aggregate stone and stucco, very angular and massive, built as a Gothic revival temple. Designed by William Lewis, Jr., the architect took into consideration Mormon temples in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. Hugely bulky at the base, the Mormon Temple rises from an enormous mound of earth, that conceals the lower floor. Built for the Mormons residing in Southern California, this temples marks the forty-fifth Mormon temple in the world. However, since its closing to the public in April 1993, only Mormons in "good standing" are now able to enter and use this massive structure. Situated in a suburban community of La Jolla/University City, the 59,000 square foot building is surrounded by shopping centers, residential areas and office buildings. There is no escaping the "angular, white monstrosity's" impact on the city. The gothic/space age temple capitalizes on an elevated sites that is close to the freeway, where thousands of motorists pass it daily.
She has been attending her store for more than 10 years. Curtin believes that the story of the mission will never be forgotten. According to Curtin “the Mission is what we are now, and we should never forget that.” Even though there are only a few remains of the Mission, San Juan Capistrano, is one of the most historic places in the entire state of California. This landmark and cultural icon still depicts the unique and rare presence of its life-long memories.
The location of the church mission was a favorable one due to the fertile soil, good water supply, adjacent lime deposits, hewing and other stone, acreage to the east for cattle grazing, many Indians nearby and easy accessibility to the Bay. This was frequently admired as an example of the ideal environment for a mission. The first mission buildings were established under the supervision of Sergeant Pedro Amador in 1797. It contained a guard house, convento, fence, chapel and barracks. The first permanent chapel was built of adobe and completed in 1809. In 1868, the Mission Church got severely dismantled by an earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Father Julian Federey decided to build a wooden Norman Gothic church to replace the adobe structure, which was then built directly over the old rock foundations and tile floor. Following years later, a Victorian Rectory was constructed between the wooden church and the only remaining adobe building, which is now the museum today (Old Mission San Jose & Museum). In 1853, Mission San Jose was known as the St Joseph Parish and the 1869 structure as St Joseph’s Church. To make room for the reconstruction of the 1809 church, the rectory got relocated in 1979, and the wooden church in 1982 to Burlingame. The Mission Church was restored in 1985 which completed the work on the original Mission San Jose, according to the
The Mission Concepcion was first built in East Texas in 1716, but they only stayed there for fifteen years do to hardships. After this it and two other missions moved to San Antonio. The missions were rebuilt on the San Antonio river on March 5, 1731. While Concepcion was built in east Texas just out of logs and thatch the new Conception was built to last it is still standing today. It was built so well it is the only mission in San Antonio that the walls, roofs, and other major structures have never collapsed. The Concepcion is not only the oldest standing stone church in Texas but in the nation. “Father Habig, historian for the Franciscan Order, states un-equivocally that ‘it is the oldest church of the Immaculate Concepcion of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the United States” (saconservation 1).
The church pleaded each farmer to transport a carload of bricks for six dollars and fifty cents a thousand. Also, the church asked each family to bring twelve loads of creek gravel. (“Schnellville 2” 14) The price tag of the new church would come out of a total of one thousand six hundred dollars; thereafter, Joseph Merkel took the position of the contractor. Construction of the new church began in 1874. (“Schnellville 1” 11-12) Schnellville had its first church when the laborers put what the townspeople called “weatherboards,” or made out of wood; later, white became the new color of the church (Welp 1). On May 4, 1876, Sacred Heart offered its first mass (“Schnellville 3” 12). Sadly on April 24, 1898; surprisingly, a fire occurred at the site of the church. The only things that survived included baptism, marriage, and death records because they found the records in a safe. Lightning may have caused the fire, but the truth of the source of the fire remains unknown. (Welp 1) Three hand carved angles and six stained glass windows, in fact, now located in the present church, came from the first church (Striegel 12). After the first fire occurred in 1898, the members of the church determined to build a new church sixteen years
St Peter’s basilica which is built based on rational form of architecture is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City, designed by Donato Bramante. Its significant history is that according to the Catholic tradition this was the place that Saint Peter was buried. Not so far away...
According to the official website for St. Patrick's Cathedral, the cathedral was first opened in 1879, after it had begun construction in 1858. Archbishop John Hughes announced his idea of building a “new” St. Patricks Cathedral over one hundred fifty years ago. The purpose of building the new cathedral in the Archbishop's eyes was to build a cathedral that was worthy of the mass numbers of catholics in the area, their intelligence, and wealth as a community. Archbishop Hughes believed that one day, this cathedral would be the “heart of the city.” He also believed that nothing would be able to divert the construction of this soon-to-be gothic cathedral. In October and November of 1878, the Great Cathedral Fair was held for a few weeks. Hughes' successor, John McCloskey became head of the dedication of the Cathedral. The architect responsible for building this cathedral was James Renwick. In 1853, he was hired to build this cathedral with a budget of only $850,000, not including the altars, furnishings for chapels, organs and other furniture. The stone that Renwick chose to use for the cathedral was white marble.
The Spanish decided to build a settlement between New Spain and East Texas. It would be a midway stop. They decided it would be located on the San Antonio River. San Jose was one of these settlements. It was made of limestone and was built in 1720. A nickname it had was "The Queen of Missions". Close by was San Antonio de Valero, or also known as the Alamo. It had carvings in the windows and the doorways that were complicated and beautiful. The carvings were made when the limestone was just unearthed. When limestone is just quarried it's relatively soft.
They gave the least power and human rights to the Native Americans to show dominance over them, and prove who of them had the power. The purpose of the church building was to convert Native Americans to Christianity, many converted to avoid bloodshed and damage to their people. The Spanish forced the Native Americans to work; Encomienda, which means to have Native American labor. The Native Americans labored on haciendas/plantations, which means farms. They forced Native Americans to work
Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come through the large windows, Abbot Suger instilled the Neo-Platonic idea that the sun was the physical representation of God. (Map Statement #2 –Philosophy) Also, at that time, the church was rising in power, so the new structural style of the basilica brought more converts and eventually more power to the church. (Map Statement #3 –Social Institutions) [Insert Literature Map Statement] The Basilica of St. Denis was built so that worshippers would be in awe of the “heaven-like” setting, which would cause more people to declare their faith to God and to the church.
The San Vitale is primarily built of brick with a marble and mosaic interior. The ground plan consists of a octagonal organization with a central dome supported by a tall cylindrical drum. Separated by clerestory windows, is a dome in a concentric form of clay tubed rings and seven curved exedras connected to vaulted semi domes. At the main entrance of this chapel is a narthax making it off access from the adjustment apsidal chapels. On either side of the narthax is two projecting towers, one being a spiral stair tower and the other a bell tower. Connecting the central dome area and the ambulatory is 8 strong masonry pillars. The outer prism incorporates two levels of galleries with eccentric mosaics from floor to ceiling. Whether marble or mosaic stone, the monument fills t...
St. Paul’s Cathedral, in London, England, was designed by architect Sir Christopher Wren. Approval of this most significant architectural project took six years just for the plan. Construction, which began in 1675, took thirty-five years until finally complete in 1710. It was built to replace a church that had been leveled by the Great Fire of 1666. St. Paul's is the largest cathedral in England, and said to be Wren's masterpiece. He brought a range of new forms, and architectural combination into English architecture. Masonry, brick, timber, and cut stone were used to form the structure of the cathedral. St. Paul’s Cathedral has been one of the main socially significant buildings in London. Cathedrals all around, have always played a large role in the communities they serve. Their fundamental purpose is to bring people closer to God, but over the centuries they have served as a focal point for trade, as a stronghold and a place of safety in times of war, and as immense status symbols. The functions, of a cathedral, take on an additional significance for St Paul's, because it’s known as the cathedral of the capital city and, of the nation. The present building is also the first cathedral to have been built since the creation of the Church of England in 1534, when religion was brought under the direct control of the monarch. This quote from Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage really shows the significance the Church has made in England. “St Paul's Cathedral is the internationally recognized signature of London and the capital's most important historic and architectural focal point. Only St Paul's and the Palace of Westminster are protected by strategic views but the proposed tower disregards this legal protection and the significance of the Cathedral as the icon of London.” The West Front, which faces the heart of the City of London, is an iconic image with great national significance. It is through the famous West Doors that so many British monarchs and distinguished figures have entered the Cathedral. The nation’s “best-loved” church, St Paul’s has hosted some of the most important commemorative events in British history. In recent years the memorial service for the victims of 9/11, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday. Also, it was where the funeral services of Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Winston Churchi...
The Romanesque Church of St. James in Compostela also has aisles that run uninterruptedly around the church and form an ambulatory, a passageway. Both buildings wanted their church members to only use a certain entrance way. he Romanesque Church of St. James is in Romanesque style. It is traditionally divided into three parts, Pre-Romanesque: Carolingian and Ottonian architecture, Early Romanesque, and Mature Romanesque. Romanesque was influenced by many classical Roman architects, and it was characterized by a new massiveness of scale. The Romanesque Church of St. James in Compostela is classical architecture which is derived from the principles of Greek and Roman
Basilica De Santo Niño Cebu is one of the best tourist spots in Cebu City and one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It is inspired by the mystical story of Santo Niño offered by Spaniards which was untouched by fire even though the Spaniards burnt the barangays in Cebu. The location where the Santo Niño was found is where Basilica De Santo Niño is standing today.