Yeah, neither had I. I didn't even know what the outside of the place looked like until I went looking up the information about the glass. I found some pictures which do a good job demonstrating the scale of this thing:CmdrWilkens wrote:Well toss out the previous estimates because a 40' boom lift isn't going to do the job. You are goonna start looking at some system of platforms on pulleys and some boom lifts on the interior. Now you are looking at a huge increase in labor costs since the insurance and training for someone using a platform rather than a scissor or boom lift is much greater. For that amount of space we would be looking at a full team of washers working on a contiuous schedule throughout the week. If its costs them less than half a mil per year just in window cleaning (forget the rest of your janitorial bill) then I'd be shocked.
I honestly didn't realize the scope of this damn thing, yeah cleaning alone would clear out tithing of a lot of rich folk.
Incidentally, that organ is huge. I can't find dimensions, but the three chairs on the lower right give some sense of scale.
More information direct from the church's site:
The Crystal Cathedral spans a full 415-feet in length, 207-feet in width and 128-feet in height. The size of the Cathedral is enhanced by the all-glass covering that encloses the entire building. More than 10,000 windows of tempered, silver-colored glass are held in place by a lace-like frame of white steel trusses. These 16,000 trusses were specifically fabricated for this engineering feat. The sanctuary seats 2,736 persons including 1,761 seats on the main floor, 346 seats in the East and West Balconies, and 283 in the South Balcony.
More than 1,000 singers and instrumentalists can perform in the 185-foot wide chancel area. The chancel area is constructed of Rosso Alicante marble, quarried in Spain and cut and polished in Italy. The altar table and pulpit are made of granite, and the 17-foot tall wooden cross is antiqued with 18-karat gold leaf.
In addition, two 90-foot tall doors open electronically behind the pulpit to allow the morning sunlight and warm breezes to enhance the worship services held at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. every Sunday morning. The entire service can be viewed on a giant indoor Sony "Jumbotron" television screen which measures 11 1/2' X 15'.
Organ
The Cathedral pipe organ, made possible by a gift from the late Hazel Wright of Chicago, is the third largest church pipe organ in the world. Conceived by famed organ virtuoso Virgil Fox, the organ unites the Aeolian-Skinner organ from Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center in New York City with the Ruffatti organ built for the former sanctuary in 1977.
There have been numerous additions and refinements by noted organ builders. There are 287 ranks of pipes and over 16,000 individual pipes, all playable from two five-manual consoles. White oak cases hold the nearly 11,000 pipes in the chancel area. Included there is a rank of forty-four 32-foot pedal pipes, originally in the organ at Bovard Auditorium at the University of Southern California-a gift of the Mt. Olive Lutheran Church of La Crescenta. The South Balcony divisions of the organ contain 5,000 pipes, and in the East and West Balconies are 549 horizontal trumpet pipes-the largest collection of such pipes in the world.
Balconies
Huge, white concrete columns, the largest ever poured, hold the balconies in place. About 10,000 yards of concrete, equal to 20,000 tons, were poured for the foundation of the structure. All visible concrete has a white marbleized appearance. The columns are hinged at the balcony, and/or foundation, to permit movement and to withstand an earthquake of the magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter Scale, and wind tunnel tests of 100-miles per hour.
Cooling
The Crystal Cathedral is not air conditioned. Rather, it is cooled by fresh air flowing from the ground level through clerestory windows which open and close thermostatically. Heat flows from underground pipes to regulate temperature in the cooler months.
Bell Tower & Spire
On the tenth anniversary of the Cathedral, celebrated on September 16, 1990, a beautiful 236-foot Bell Tower was dedicated. One of Orange County's tallest structures, the tower is comprised of highly polished, mirrored quality, stainless steel prisms forming a spectacular spire which catches the light from all directions. This Philip Johnson-designed completion of the Crystal Cathedral houses a 52-bell carillon named in honor of Dr. Schuller's wife, Arvella Schuller. At the base of the structure is an intimate prayer chapel named the Mary Hood Chapel. Inscribed above the marble walls of the chapel are the words "My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer For All People." The spire has been named the Crean Tower honoring John and Donna Crean who provided a large gift to begin construction in 1988.
