Georgetown
Washington, DC · Georgetown & Northwest
Georgetown, on the Potomac in northwest Washington, was founded in 1751 as a Maryland tobacco port, 40 years before the capital. JFK lived at 3307 N Street until January 1961 and…
Photo: Peter Swanson / CC BY-SA 4.0
Attractions
Washington National Cathedral
About
Perched on Mount Saint Alban above Northwest Washington, this is the sixth-largest cathedral on earth and a full-bore feat of 14th-century English Gothic, built stone on stone over 83 years with no steel holding it up. Inside, 215 stained-glass windows pour color down the nave, including the Space Window with a sliver of moon rock set in the glass, and outside the towers hide more than a hundred carved grotesques, among them a Darth Vader sculpted from a kid's design contest. Worship and quiet prayer are always free; daytime sightseeing runs a timed ticket, and it is well worth climbing toward the tower gallery for the long view back over the city.
Highlights
14th-century English Gothic, no steel frame215 stained-glass windows including the moon-rock Space WindowDarth Vader grotesque hidden in the towersTower gallery views over Washington
