Grossbrand in Manhattan
Großbrand in New York
Größte US-Kathedrale in Flammen
In der New Yorker Kathedrale Saint John the Divine ist am Dienstagmorgen ein Großbrand ausgebrochen. Mehrere Feuerwehrtrupps bemühten sich am Morgen, den Brand im Norden von Manhattan unter Kontrolle zu bringen. Saint John the Divine ist die größte Kathedrale der USA.
Über Verletzte oder die Brandursache wurde zunächst nichts bekannt. Dichte Rauchwolken hüllten die Umgebung zwischen der 112. Straße und der Amsterdam Avenue ein, die für den Fahrzeugverkehr gesperrt wurde. Nach unbestätigten Berichten begann das Feuer um 05.30 Uhr Ortszeit (11.30 Uhr MEZ) im Souvenir-Shop der Kathedrale, die zu den Touristen-Attraktionen der Millionen-Metropole gehört.
Die Kirche, mit deren bis heute nicht völlig abgeschlossenen Bau 1892 begonnen worden war, beherbergt zahlreiche Kunstschätze. Sie ist berühmt für ihre verschiedenen Altäre, die von bekannten Künstlern geschaffen wurde. Darunter ist einer des Pop-Künstlers Keith Haring. Der so genannte Poetenwinkel der Kathedrale ist jenem in Londons Westminster Abbey nachgestaltet.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:44 a.m.
NEW YORK -- Fire broke out Tuesday morning at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, with black smoke billowing 40 feet high from the Episcopal church that has been under construction for more than a century.
"We were going to do `The Messiah` in two days," said Cathedral organist Dorothy Papadakos, "but I don`t think it`s going to happen."
Dozens of firetrucks converged at about 7 a.m. as the smoke rose from a gift shop in the rear of the church and scores of onlookers stood by. Officials at the scene said no injuries were reported.
The house of worship, which calls itself "the world`s largest cathedral" and is listed by the Encyclopedia of New York City as the nation`s largest, is at Amsterdam Avenue and West 112th Street, in the Morningside Heights neighborhood.
Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen was at the scene. Police at the scene said it appeared part of the roof of the cathedral had caved in.
"We were just crying all the way down here," said Margaret Hurwitz of Washington Heights, whose son, Nicholas, 12, goes to the Cathedral School.
The school is on the cathedral grounds, about two blocks from the fire scene. Hurwitz and her son headed there to find out whether it would be open; other children were seen leaving the area, crying and carrying book bags.
"You know, after the World Trade towers, you want something to be secure," said Hurwitz. "This is where we came that day."
The first stone of the historic cathedral was laid in 1892, but construction has never been completed, and work continues to this day. Papadakos said the organ was the city`s fourth largest and dates to 1910.
The American Institute of Architects "Guide to New York City" says the cathedral combines "the happy interests of social activism, avant-garde art and music, and a heavy and heady interest in architecture."
A British master stonemason was brought to New York to train local youths in old-fashioned stonecutting methods.
"Despite its incompleteness and mix of styles, it is an impressive interior," the AIA guide says, "enormous not only in plan but also in volume, its side aisles being built as high as the nave."
"Were St. John the Divine to be completed, it would be the world`s largest cathedral," the guide says.
Since its first stone was laid in 1892, The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine has been a vibrant witness of the Gospel message of God's love in New York City, the Episcopal Church, and the world. Today, the Cathedral is a leading voice in the exploration of sacred arts and liturgical expression, and in the work of building community in an otherwise fragmented world.
The world's largest cathedral, St. John the Divine is located at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.
http://www.stjohndivine.org
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The trees are sheathed in ice,
Crystal sculptures, they stand in snow,
Bending beneath their burdens,
Flashing in the sunlight,
Reflecting the rain that created them.
Droplets are caught on the tips,
And sheath the longer branches,
Encasing them in loveliness.
Mute sculptures they stand,
Caught in winter's vise,
Bearing the cost of this beauty.
Some like the willow,
Flex their branches gracefully,
Moving through a crystal rhythm,
In a dance of flashing light.
The sun promises release.
But the cold keeps captives still.
I, too, await the change of seasons
Remembering the beauty and the price
Of the winter storm.
Florence Myslajek
New Brighton, MN