The most fundamental element of the Gothic style is the pointed arch, reaching up to the sky, symbolising humanity reaching out to God.
It is used for doorways, arcades and windows. St. Patrick’s arches have traditional hood moulds above them to divert rainwater away from the openings, even though the cathedral’s design does not include label stops at the sides that were conventional in the Middle Ages. Underneath the arches, ornamental cornices are decorated by scalloping with floral design. While most typical ornaments in Medieval Gothic are quatrefoils and trefoils, decorations of scalloping and window arches of St. Patrick’s included foils with up to 6 cusps. Although the foils were remarkable features of the cathedral, they have not become central to Gothic Revival architecture and were rarely used in the future. In case of Renwick’s design they give decorative touch to a pure structure in order to create a balance that Gothic could not fully achieve. In 1600s it was a popular belief that Gothic architecture was introduced by barbarians. Molière comments in his poem La Gloire ,”…the insipid taste of Gothic ornamentation, these odious monstrosities of an ignorant age, produced by the torrents of barbarism…”. It demonstrates that not everyone was pleased with chaotic appearance of Gothic cathedrals and it can be argued that Gothic Revival addressed it by introducing classicism and was more accepted in the society.
America was founded on the ideologies of religious freedom and high tolerance to all faiths and beliefs. The Gothic style ideas were reborn in the US driven by people’s nostalgia of sacred buildings. Instead of the transparent imitation of Gothic forms, James Renwick composed original work based on the fundamentals of Gothic and spiritual concept of verticality. The windows, the doors and the pillars, every element of St. Patrick’s facade is pointed upwards, forming the fascinating composition of sharp, irregular shapes. The pinnacles at the corners of towers intensify the sense of height. Unlike their medieval predecessors, the pinnacles of St. Patrick’s Cathedral are less harsh and extravagant. It is achieved by excluding rows of the crockets, leaving only delicate finials at the top, depicting the leaves or opened flowers. Equally important, the floral elements are decorating the arches’ label mouldings and act as the focus of attention of these areas. The simplicity of some elements is definitely noticeable in contrast with earlier Gothic buildings, such as Cologne Cathedral. For instance, the Gothic revolutionary flying buttresses are not needed as additional support for St. Patrick’s structure, as the vaults are made out of plaster instead of the stone. However, Renwick positioned several decorative buttresses on south and north facades to bring back the symbolic feature of dark ages.
The plan of the cathedral’s is based on Latin Cross pattern with shallow transept. It demonstrates harmony of proportions and symmetry that are the most powerful visual features of Gothic Revival. The walls of the building are naturally light due to large windows and massive columns. This combination creates a spacious interior decorated in English Gothic style. Most compelling evidence is a lierne vault where ribs form the star-shaped pattern referred to as "Stellar" vaulting. It is supported by two rows of slender stone columns rising above the nave and giving the central vertical element of the interior. The towering space conveys the feeling of being small and insignificant, which highlights the glory of God. Another prominent feature of Gothic architecture is the stained glass. Stained-glass windows consisted of small pieces of coloured glass and refracted the light in such a way that a specific atmosphere was created in the church affecting people’s spirit and soul. In religious buildings, glass paintings originally illustrated the life of Jesus and the deeds of the Apostles. Entering the Gothic cathedral filled with an iridescent light, one will be bathed in the presence of God. Therefore, it was quite natural that the stained-glass windows became another central element of the Gothic Revival. The illustrations became more detailed and proportional, featuring different colours of glass, that was impossible for the Middle Ages. In St. Patrick’s Cathedral domination of blue and dark red stains can be seen which makes the church dark and mysterious.
The Gothic architecture was part of the strong religion, emphasising spiritualism. All the elements, such as decor, huge dimensions and materiality were used to appeal to the emotions. The influence of Catholic Church was enormous in the Middle Ages. It is believed that it held the local citizens in continual awe of how powerful the Church was. The reverence was always a strong combination of astonishment and fear, as a result of human perception of scale. It prompted the weak to obey the strong. Therefore, sense of size was essential feature for the recreation of Gothic Architecture, which resulted in romantic, decorative Revival style. The main challenge was to break the strict boundaries of Gothic principles while saving the narrative purpose. To clarify, Jamie Hudson highlighted the differences between Medieval and Revival Gothic styles. While the former reveals the impact of society on architecture, the latter shows the influence of architecture on culture and community. Places of worship in the 19th century became the mirrors of the city. The cathedrals of New York were no exception, including St. Patrick’s, they were the central point in the lives of citizens. Public activities, festivals, weddings and celebrations of liberty were examples of the events that were uniting people regardless of their faith. Separate structure elements create the harmony which represents the diversity and unity of the society. It is important to understand that Americans cherished their civic pride and strongly believed that it could be demonstrated by the immensity of the structure. To the delight of New Yorkers, St. Patrick’s Cathedral stayed as the tallest building in the city for fifty-four years until the Rockefeller Center was built. It was followed by development of the city and rise of skyscrapers, so all of the sudden the landscape has changed dramatically as well as domination of the cathedral. In contrast to the lively and busy atmosphere that used to surround St. Patrick’s, the striking skyline became much higher than the spires of the cathedral. It contradicted the aim of the churches to be the highest and most impressive. The sense of power was rapidly diminishing, but instead the appreciation and treasuring of historic landmarks evolved. Places like St. Patrick’s reflect cultural legacy, therefore it can be said that by “borrowing Gothic elements”, Neo-Gothic met its original aim to emphasise how significant is the role of architecture in the society development.
The Cathedral of St. Patrick features many elements from Gothic architecture, although they are developed and improved by classical proportions. All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that pointed arch is the most dominant feature of the cathedral and is central to the design. It supports the concept idea and can be seen as the most occurring detail on the facade, referring to Gothic fundamentals. Secondly, the enormousness of windows and power of light are responsible for the atmosphere inside, reflecting the “idea that God is light”.(54) Another central aspect is the height of the cathedral represented by spires. It is evidence of American pride, demonstrating how Neo-Gothic style was used to prove national glory.
ornamental decorations were left as original, bringing nostalgia of medieval artwork into the design, including finials, tracery, foils, label moulds and scalloping.