The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The structure is of Neo-Gothic design closely modeled on English Gothic style of the late fourteenth century. It is both the second-largest church building in the United States, and the fourth-tallest structure in Washington, D.C.
In 2011 the Cathedral was damaged by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. “Atop the two towers on the Cathedral’s western façade, slender pinnacles rattled and rolled and hand-carved angels wiggled out of place. A 350-pound finial fell 20 stories off the northwest tower and embedded itself into the ground outside the main visitor’s entrance. It was stolen the night of the quake.” Six years later, they continue to make repairs, as funding becomes available. I was still living in the D.C. area when that unusual earthquake happened. It was quite a scare. Ironically, even though I’ve been living in earthquake territory (California) for the past six years, that D.C. earthquake is still the strongest I’ve experienced in my life. I hope that doesn’t change…
Shoot 'N Go 
Ironic isn’t it, that it was the worst earthquake you had been though.
Indeed! We’ve had several small ones in LA over these past few years but the strongest was a 4.4 in 2014. And that D.C. quake was the first and so far only one in the area.
So beautiful, although I imagine George would be appalled. He was a very humble man. 🙂 There’s a lovely chapel/church in his name in Valley Forge.
janet
Gorgeous details in those doors and such a beautiful building too. I’ve never experienced anything more powerful than a 3.2 earthquake and I sure hope to keep it that way.
I hope so too, Norm. That 2011 earthquake was felt all the way to Toronto.
It’s spectacular!
I remember that earthquake in 2011. It triggered a lot of “where were you when …” kind of conversations.
Thanks, Joanne. I was at a Bloomingdale’s shopping when the quake hit the DC area. There was a loud bang and the shaking started, manequins started to fall, and mild panic ensued. The store people had no idea what to do so they just had us all leave the store, using escalators and all. Not exactly what they’d tell you to do here in L.A… But that was it. No more tremors… 🙂
It wasn’t nearly as dramatic here. People who were stationary felt some shaking and were more perplexed than anything else.
I was at work and walking down a hallway at the time. I stumbled into a wall and thought I had simply lost my balance … until I started to hear all the voices “what was that? Did you feel that?”
Because I was moving at the time, I didn’t actually feel anything, but it was enough to make me stumble.
Good