The Cathedral: Chronology
1873
Bishop Horatio Potter founds the Cathedral by obtaining a charter
from the New York State Legislature and thereby establishing
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine as a legal entity.
The Panic of 1873 and subsequent economic depression thwart plans
to raise funds to acquire a site and commence construction.
1887
Horatio Potter dies and is succeeded by his nephew, Henry Codman
Potter, 7th Bishop of New York. As one of his first official
acts, the bishop issues an appeal to the citizens of New York
seeking support for the construction of a cathedral that would
be "worthy of a great city," in the Episcopal tradition but
broadly ecumenical. A 13-acre site is acquired for the Cathedral
atop the plateau known as Morningside Heights. Other leading
institutions soon join the Cathedral on the Heights, beginning
with Columbia University, Teacher's College and St. Luke's
Hospital, creating an "American Acropolis."
1888
Sixty-eight architects submit designs in a competition to select
a design for the Cathedral.
1891
The design competition is won by George Heins and Christopher
Grant LaFarge. The Heins & LaFarge design is eclectic - a Romanesque
interior with Byzantine overtones and an exterior with many Gothic
elements.
1892
Bishop Potter lays the cornerstone on the patronal feast, St.
John's Day, December 27.
1893
Excavation begins for the foundation of the apse. Geological
surprises make reaching bedrock a much longer and more costly
process than anticipated.
1899
The first services are held in a chapel in the crypt, the only
part of the Cathedral to be completed after more than five years
of work.
1901
The Cathedral School is founded as a residential choir school
for boy choristers.
1903
The eight massive granite columns to support the Cathedral's
east end are transported from a quarry in Maine and hoisted into
place. Work begins on the massive arches of the Crossing.
1908
The roof for the Great Choir is completed. Bishop Potter dies
and is succeeded by David Greer, 8th Bishop of New York.
Based on information from the Cathedral's Web Page