What happened to the gothic revival?
Gothic revival in different variations continued on well into the 20th century. That National Cathedral is gothic revival although it’s a much different kind of gothic revival. Another example in Alexandria would be the Second Presbyterian Church at 601 Prince Street, now EDAW. It was built in 1840, so it’s a good 20 years after St. Paul’s. That’s an example of mid-19th century gothic revival. How is the modern version of St. Paul’s different than Latrobe’s design? The front wouldn’t look that different, with one exception which is that the top of the pediment has been changed and raised up. But the rest of the exterior would look pretty similar. The interior of it is different in some ways. Now there’s a chancel, which Latrobe’s design did not have. Later there was the addition of stained glass. And crosses. You never used to have crosses in church. Most Episcopal churches didn’t have crosses in them until the early 20th century.
