Where can we escape the city’s incessant drone; where bright streets are contrasted by dark alleys of fitful twilight. I found a space, off my beaten path, which always holds a welcoming quiet – the cathedrals of the city. Be it St. Patrick’s in New York, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles or Notre Dame in Paris, voices become whispers and footfalls move soft as slippered feet.
Why is it these spaces earn the quiet of their patrons? I recognize there is a due respect owed to these as places of worship. A respect for the religion may quiet the tongue but isn’t the only driving force. I find we are expressing our awe for the space itself. As the architecture’s scale increases, the individual’s scale radically shifts to be minuscule.
Have you found this same quiet in places beyond a church or memorial?