Washington National Cathedral

On Mount St Alban, one of the highest hills in the capital, stands a great Gothic cathedral built stone by stone in the medieval way, without a steel frame, between 1907 and 1990. Washington National Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington and the setting for presidents’ funerals and national services. It is also full of surprises: a moon rock in a window, Woodrow Wilson’s tomb, and Darth Vader high on a tower.

Eighty-three years in the building

Congress chartered the cathedral foundation in 1893, and the foundation stone was laid in 1907 with President Theodore Roosevelt looking on. The design, by the English architect George Frederick Bodley with Henry Vaughan, and later by Philip Frohman, follows the English and French Gothic of the fourteenth century. The last finial was set on the west towers in 1990, in front of President George H. W. Bush.

Formally it is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is built of Indiana limestone, and its central tower, about 92 metres (301 feet) high, makes it the highest point in Washington. It has more than 200 stained-glass windows, over a hundred gargoyles and more than a thousand grotesques. An earthquake in August 2011 shook pinnacles from the towers and caused about $38 million of damage. The repairs are still going on: the central tower is the last and most complex phase, and the cathedral expects the whole project to be finished in 2029.

The visitor’s cheat sheet

What to see

The nave

The nave is long, light and lined with the flags of the states. On the south side, in the middle tier of windows, is the Space Window of 1974, with a sliver of moon rock brought back by Apollo 11 set into its glass. In a memorial bay of the nave is the tomb of Woodrow Wilson, the only president buried in Washington. High on the west wall is the great Creation Rose Window, best when the late afternoon sun comes through it.

The crossing and the Great Choir

At the crossing stands the Canterbury Pulpit, carved from stone sent by Canterbury Cathedral. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his last Sunday sermon from it in 1968, four days before he was killed. Beyond it, the Great Choir, with its carved stalls, leads to the high altar, which stands on stones from “Solomon’s quarries” near Jerusalem, under a reredos of more than a hundred carved figures.

The chapels below

A lift in the south transept takes you to the lower level. Bethlehem Chapel, finished in 1912, is the oldest part of the cathedral; the foundation stone lies under its altar. Nearby, in St Joseph of Arimathea Chapel, a bronze plaque in English and Braille marks the columbarium where the ashes of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan rest. The Braille is touched so often that the plaque has to be replaced from time to time.

Up in the towers

Lifts near the main entrance rise to the observation gallery on the seventh floor of the west towers, with views across the city. It is included in sightseeing admission when it is open. Tower climbs go further: 333 steps up narrow stone and open metal spiral stairs to the bell-ringing chamber of the central tower. Routes may change while the central tower is being restored.

Darth Vader and the grotesques

In the 1980s a children’s competition invited designs for grotesques on the northwest tower, and one of the winners was Darth Vader. He sits high on the back (east) face of the tower, on the north side; stand on the pavement by the accessible entrance and look up, with binoculars. Around the building are hundreds more carved creatures, from dragons to a raccoon.

The Bishop’s Garden

On the south side, through a Norman arch off South Road, the Bishop’s Garden is laid out like a medieval walled garden, with herbs, roses and a little eight-sided gazebo. It is free and open from dawn to dusk, and gives the best view of the central tower. The old baptistery next to the arch is now a café.

Getting there

The cathedral is at 3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW, in Cathedral Heights, about 3 miles north-west of the White House. The nearest Metro stations, Tenleytown-AU and Woodley Park on the Red Line, are each about 1½ miles away. From Woodley Park, bus C51 runs past the cathedral; bus D80 runs along Wisconsin Avenue from Georgetown and Friendship Heights. These route numbers date from the 2025 changes to the bus network, so older directions may give different ones. There is an underground car park off Wisconsin Avenue, free during Sunday worship.

Don’t miss

• The Space Window With a piece of the moon.
• The Canterbury Pulpit Where Dr King last preached on a Sunday.
• Helen Keller’s plaque In Braille, on the lower level.
• Darth Vader Northwest tower; bring binoculars.
• The Bishop’s Garden Free, and the best view of the tower.

Insider tips

More churches in the United States

• Cathedral of St John the Divine — New York’s unfinished giant.
• Trinity Church, Wall Street — Alexander Hamilton’s churchyard.

See all the American churches in this guide →