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St. John's Roman Catholic Cathedral (Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist)

East 9th Street and Superior Avenue, Cleveland; rebuilt in the 1940s. Gothic.

Exterior: Light brown Tennessee Crab Orchard stone (Crossville Sandstone), quarried near Crab Orchard, Tennessee, is used for most of the exterior. This stone was johncatholic.jpg (15761 bytes)added during the 1940s rebuilding of the cathedral. The blocks are random coursed ashlar. Red and orange swirls seen on this stone are due to iron staining. The sheen seen on sunny days is due to the presence of a large quantity of mica crystals in this stone. Trim is Indiana limestone (Salem Limestone). Stairs on the East Ninth Street side are gray granite. The roof is vari-colored slate from Bangor, Maine.

Interior: Many varieties of stone are used inside the cathedral. The narthex has wainscoting of beige and pink travertine. In the rear of the church proper, the wainscoting is Breccia Pernice marble, a mottled pink and beige brecciated limestone with white veining quarried in the Venice area of Italy. Candle holders and bases for the statues at the shrines of St. Ann and St. Joseph in the transepts are Red Verona marble (a nodular limestone). Their bases are a beige limestone. The shrine of the Christ Child in the south transept has a candle holder of a light gray limestone and a base of gold and brown brecciated limestone. Wainscoting around it is a beige limestone, possibly Botticino marble. The stone behind the statue at the shrine of Saint Theresa, in the northwest part of the church, is a fossiliferous pink and white limestone. The shrine of the Sacred Heart in the north transept has a base and wainscoting of beige travertine. The panel behind the statue is pink and white fossiliferous limestone, with fossils of rudists (extinct, tubular clams). The stone may be Botticino marble. Side panels are Red Verona marble. The new (1991) baptismal area includes a baptismal font with a bowl of Rosa do Monte A marble, an orangish pink marble quarried in Portugal. The bowl is held up by a stand consisting of a base of Rosso Magnaboschi Fiorito marble, columns of Rosa do Monte A, and a cap of Rosso Magnaboschi Fiorito. There is also a Verde Antique base around the baptismal area. The former communion rail was also fashioned from Botticino marble. The sanctuary steps are Verde Antique and a white true marble with gray veining. The sanctuary floor is a white true marble with gray veining. The cathedra (pontifical throne) is Botticino marble and the adjacent (spur) wall is Loredo Chiaro marble, a light brown breccia with purplish, cream, and green mottling. The main altar is Botticino marble. Beneath the altar is a "block" of breccia.

Remarks: Tennessee Crab Orchard stone is often referred to as a quartzite, but it is a true sandstone. The grains of this sandstone are very well cemented, making it highly durable.

References: Anonymous, 1948.

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The Center for Sacred Landmarks Monograph Series
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From the Center for Sacred Landmarks monograph: Guide To Stones Used for Houses of Worship in Northeastern Ohio (December, 1999) by . Joseph T. Hannibal. Published by the Sacred Landmarks Partnership of Northeast Ohio


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