Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

One of my favorite authors in Madeleine L'Engle.  While living in New York City, L'Engle was the Writer in Resident of St. John's Cathedral.  The first time Paul and I visited NYC, I put taking a tour of the Cathedral on our agenda, because I wanted to experience the place that inspired one of my favorite writers.

L'Engle used the Cathedral grounds as the setting for some of her books, so it was great seeing the grounds and understanding what they really looked like.

 

 

When we visited the Cathedral, we took what was called the "Vertical" tour, where we went all the way to the top of the cathedral, in the eaves right under the roof.

 

The whole experience was so wonderful, and learning about the community where L'Engle was a part made it even more special.

She was not only the writer-in-residence at the Cathedral, but taught at St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School, which is located on the Cathedral grounds.  In 1965 she became a volunteer librarian.

Since I never had the chance to actually meet L'Engle in person before she passed away, visiting the Cathedral was the next best thing to meeting her.