San Francisco - Nob Hill: Grace Cathedral - Old Testament Children's Doors - David
The Old Testament Children's Doors, also known as the Hooker Doors after their benefactor, Mr. Osgood Hooker, are located at the entrance to the South Tower of Grace Cathedral. The doors were designed and sculpted by Bruce Moore and cast by the Modern Art Foundry in 1964. The frames were fabricated by Michel & Pfeffer. The two massive 12-foot doors are each adorned with four cast bronze panels and fish-shaped handles. Nine miniature abstract reliefs surround the larger reliefs of each door.
The panels in the left door portray four scenes involving children from the Old Testament. From top to bottom the panels depict: 1) Joseph being sold into slavery, 2) the child Moses being found by Pharaoh's daughter, 3) Samuel serving the Lord in the Temple with Eli, and 4) David and Goliath.
The panels in the right door portray contemporary social concepts. From top to bottom the panels depict: 1) the Judeo-Christian ethical demand to eliminate child labor, 2) the emergence programs of adoption for orphans and foundlings, 3) youth serving in the church as acolytes, and choristers, 4) the valor of children as they face the lessons of life and make their own contributions to society symbolized by the figure of Joan of Arc.
Grace cathedral, at 1100 California Street, was designed in French Gothic style by Lewis Parsons Hobart in 1964. The cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of California is descendant from the historic Grace Church, founded in 1848 during the Gold Rush, whose imposing structure on the corner of California and Stockton that was destroyed in the fire following the 1906 earthquake. Construction began on the cathedral, which would take the name of the old church, on a ruined block donated by the San Francisco's Crocker family in 1928, but Depression halted work in 1933 with a half-finished nave. Construction briefly resumed and the Signing (North) Tower, was largely finished by 1941. The end of World War II brought about a renewed interest in completing Grace Cathedral and construction resumed under architects Weihe, Frick & Krause, in time for a November 20, 1964 consecration--36 years after groundbreaking.
Today the cathedral has become a pilgrimage center, famed for its replica of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, two labyrinths, varied stained glass windows, Keith Haring's AIDS Chapel altarpiece, and medieval and contemporary furnishings, as well as its 44 bell carillon, three organs, and choirs.
San Francisco Landmark No. 170 (8/5/1984)
San Francisco - Nob Hill: Grace Cathedral - Old Testament Children's Doors - David
The Old Testament Children's Doors, also known as the Hooker Doors after their benefactor, Mr. Osgood Hooker, are located at the entrance to the South Tower of Grace Cathedral. The doors were designed and sculpted by Bruce Moore and cast by the Modern Art Foundry in 1964. The frames were fabricated by Michel & Pfeffer. The two massive 12-foot doors are each adorned with four cast bronze panels and fish-shaped handles. Nine miniature abstract reliefs surround the larger reliefs of each door.
The panels in the left door portray four scenes involving children from the Old Testament. From top to bottom the panels depict: 1) Joseph being sold into slavery, 2) the child Moses being found by Pharaoh's daughter, 3) Samuel serving the Lord in the Temple with Eli, and 4) David and Goliath.
The panels in the right door portray contemporary social concepts. From top to bottom the panels depict: 1) the Judeo-Christian ethical demand to eliminate child labor, 2) the emergence programs of adoption for orphans and foundlings, 3) youth serving in the church as acolytes, and choristers, 4) the valor of children as they face the lessons of life and make their own contributions to society symbolized by the figure of Joan of Arc.
Grace cathedral, at 1100 California Street, was designed in French Gothic style by Lewis Parsons Hobart in 1964. The cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of California is descendant from the historic Grace Church, founded in 1848 during the Gold Rush, whose imposing structure on the corner of California and Stockton that was destroyed in the fire following the 1906 earthquake. Construction began on the cathedral, which would take the name of the old church, on a ruined block donated by the San Francisco's Crocker family in 1928, but Depression halted work in 1933 with a half-finished nave. Construction briefly resumed and the Signing (North) Tower, was largely finished by 1941. The end of World War II brought about a renewed interest in completing Grace Cathedral and construction resumed under architects Weihe, Frick & Krause, in time for a November 20, 1964 consecration--36 years after groundbreaking.
Today the cathedral has become a pilgrimage center, famed for its replica of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, two labyrinths, varied stained glass windows, Keith Haring's AIDS Chapel altarpiece, and medieval and contemporary furnishings, as well as its 44 bell carillon, three organs, and choirs.
San Francisco Landmark No. 170 (8/5/1984)