The church was built during the Civil War makes sense, given the uptick in prayer around that time , and it still stands today. I felt immensely excited to explore a building that greeted humans all the way back in The weddings, funerals, family gatherings, baptisms, prayers, tears, and laughter. Even as a little girl, I felt such strong ripples of history inside that church. It was the oldest building I had ever stood inβ¦. There, I visited St. Back then, it was the tallest building in New York.
George Washington visited the church on his inauguration day, and he frequented St. While I stood in that building and looked out the window, my head spun at how the view must have changed over the years. Old buildings, particularly churches, just have a thing for me. An energy. Although many old churches are quiet and empty now, they provided centers for their townships back in the day. All that activity leaves quite a stamp on the historical energy timeline, so I find churches are excellent little time portals, allowing me to slip into the shoes of those past generations you can learn more about my obsession with that here.
And until my thirties, St. Then I visited Europe. One thing the old world certainly boasts over the new is preserved history. In America, real estate moves in and the history goes out. Standing in a building that existed during the Revolution is quite an exceptional treat. And for someone who likes old churches, Europe was an absolute gold mine of ornate, beautifully carved, astounding works of churchy art, all housing centuries of history inside. Tombs from the Crusades.
Scrolls predating printing presses. Architecture from the Middle Ages. Robes worn by some of the earliest priests and bishops. Rouen in particular knocked my history nerd socks off in the church department. Especially Cathedral Notre Dame de Rouen. Between that and the fantastic architecture, we braved the uncharacteristically hundred-degree heat that summer, and we made our way towards the big cathedral.
And I do mean big cathedral. The same might be said about the history. When I entered Notre Dame de Rouen, I picked up a guidebook to direct me through the labyrinths of sweeping corridors, tombs, stained glass works, and historical artifacts. In A. I mean seriouslyβ¦. All was well until A.
