About a decade ago we replaced our wooden floors with stone and it made a notable difference in acoustics--better from singing, more difficult for speaking.

PS: For folks who are curious about the unfinished Cathedral towers, below was the original design intention, but the Cathedral fronts onto the original narrow neck of land that connected the former Shawmut Peninsula (Old Boston Proper) to the mainland but has since been surrounded by infill, and the towers ultimately would not support the intended spires. But at least one of the towers is has a set of five working bells from the former Holy Trinity parish nearby (which is another story - they are steel bells, purchased by the Jesuits then in charge of that parish from Confederate contraband seized by the Union after the capture of New Orleans - Confederate churches having sent bells downriver to be melted into armaments).

Thanks Liam for the thorough update on what has been for many a very long wait. Having decades-long memories of the Cathedral, I hope I’m not too shocked by the brightly lit cleanliness. I may miss the dinginess and creaky old wood floors. You really felt a warm connection to the past, a rather blue-collar past I might add.

Numbers 7 and 9 of the plan may prove to be the most startling innovations. I’m curious as to how this new pew rearrangement will be received by old-timers. Number 7, of course, involves repositioning the choir, which if I understand correctly, will face toward the altar at an angle. For those unfamiliar with the old set up, the choir sang not from the loft but from a confined spot near a side altar. That positioning was an acoustical challenge to put it mildly. (The choral sound from the loft is wonderful but the distance from the liturgical action is a formidable handicap.)

As to the organ, it is a local and national treasure. Every musician should be grateful for Leo Abbott’s almost single-handed efforts through the years to restore and maintain it. And of course, best wishes to Richard Clark in his new role as music director of the Cathedral.

Now about the parking . . .

The Blessed Sacrament is reposed in Its own chapel at the cathedral.

Here's a pic of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Holy Cross Cathedral, which was beautifully renovated in the 1990s work done in the Cathedral (during which work the color of the nave, transepts and sanctuary were finally rid of their post WW2 war surplus green paint....Randolph, it was a *green* collar past....and the parking that was abundant when the area was, um, grittier, has been superseded by the Silver Line, which at least is a much less of a transit blight for the Cathedral to coexist with):

I'm sorry to say that this looks like so many other recent cathedral renovations where the original architecture is more or less ignored and used as a shell for what's thought be mandated by Vatican II. The oversized amorphous sanctuary, the strange positioning of the pews and choir, and what looks to be unrelieved brightness of the lighting, all strike me as very "1990s."

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid this will look as dated as the cathedrals in Milwaukee and Seattle do now.

Pfreese, I can't open the image. Is this the infamous Christ the Diver sometimes called, Touchdown Jesus?

Weakland should have been ridden out of town on a rail after being tarred and feathered. That thing looks awful.

I would not liken the HCC sanctuary reno as comparable to Vosko's work in Milwaukee. Vosko would not at all approve of the keeping of the OF altar to the bounds of the former sanctuary (just along the line of it, but still, let alone reinstate five steps to the reredos altar!), but would have gutted the sanctuary, and created a much shorter predella at the front of the crossing. Vosko is a worship-in-the-round fundamentalist of sorts, and HCC's sanctuary doesn't even kiss that idea. The new placement of the choir will be acoustically and functionally superior to where it's been in recent decades (the size of normal congregations at HCC is such that singing the Mass from the loft would involve too long of an acoustical gap - something I've observed in practice elsewhere back in the 1990s), and will allow much better access by the faithful to the small Lady chapel (off the south transept) that was uncovered during the 1990s reno work after decades of being boarded up. The shape of the new sanctuary predella is not amorphous but appears to be "inspired" by the shamrock (three angled lobes of three), design references with which HCC is historically replete (St Patrick being the patron of the RCAB). The flexible seating through the transept/crossing areas is aslmost certainly designed with Chrism and Ordination Masses and other odd liturgies in mind. I am glad to see the sanctuary rid of carpeting, but it would be prudent for some handrails to be installed along the shamrocky configured sanctuary steps. There's been no public mention of what is planned for communion rails for EF Masses, but flexible seating in that area could accommodate them. As for the lighting, the renderings are not indicative of the more modulated light in that area - the vault is of dark wood (painted - the design for which is being restored - in the apsidal arm of the space).

And, as for Unfortunate Liturgical Design Ideas that might have been inflicted on HCC with this restoration, I am quite grateful that an idea to bulk-out, faux marble-ize and crown (with an utterly inappropriate design) the cast iron columns (I assume to conceal utility/HVAC conduits) as shown in this rendering was reconsidered and set aside:

Thanks for your comment, Liam.

I agree it could have been worse, and I hoping it's not as bad as I think, but it could have been so much better. Just when a serious and fruitful re-evaluation of the dominant liturgical thinking of the post-conciliar era is taking place, it seems that much of thought behind the HCC renovation is stuck in the 1980-90s. Even besides the liturgical positive / negatives, I'm always bothered by a basic disregard for the architecture. That space was never meant to have a shamrock or whatever shape the sanctuary now is. OK, it's better than the "altar in the round" concept, but still fitting a square peg in to a round hole.

Still a beautiful building and magnificent organ. Next time I am there I have to see it.

Rich_enough, you touched on something interesting. One of my choir members said last night he had gone to the "contemporary" service two weekends because of scheduling conflicts arranging care for a very ill relative. He stated he was miserable there and that those people are still stuck in the seventies flailing away on their guitars and singing drivel. I would extend that to cover far too much of the church being like 50-year-old teenagers who never grew up.

Richard

I don't know if you are aware that only the center-front-most lip of the new sanctuary steps extends (but a few feet) beyond where the old sanctuary rail used to be. In the linked photo from a firefighters' requiem in 1964, you can see there was a clear wide area across the span from each set of transept doors.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/rf/image_r/Boston/2011-2020/2014/10/01/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/TrumbullStreetfire_9.r.jpg

If this reno design were from the 1980s-90s, there would definitely be no restoration of the five steps to the reredos!

JL

I remember hearing from a friend who was involved in the 1990s renos that, at the dedication of the then-new altar, Chrism dripped onto said carpet, which had to be sectioned out and buried/burned and then replaced.....

I heard of someone having the bright idea of wrapping an altar in clingfilm (plastic wrap) so that the oil would not stain it. Quite apart from probably invalidating the consecration, unwrapping the altar did not go well!

Mini-update: For folks who remember the trip-inducing platform of the old pews in the Cathedral, the same but restored pews are being placed directly on the new stone flooring (click on the photos to zoom in for full resolution):

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D01LY21W0AIYbMu.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D01LSzEXgAEVTzb.jpg

And the Cathedral started this week to offer an opportunity for memorial or other donations towards the pew and kneeler restoration:

http://holycrossboston.com/pews/

Btw, for folks interested in comparing this to Patrick Keely's work that survives in current US Cathedrals, here are links to what they currently look like: only the last two show any of the open-bracketing system approach to vaulting that Keely used in Boston:

Holy Name, Chicago (may I say: terrible aisle window glass): https://s3.amazonaws.com/architecture-org/files/modules/holy-name-cathedral-eric-allix-rogers-03.jpg

SS Peter & Paul, Providence: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Cathedral_of_Sts._Peter_and_Paul_Providence_RI_interior.jpg

Immaculate Conception, Albany: https://image.shutterstock.com/z/stock-photo-albany-new-york-june-an-empty-cathedral-of-the-immaculate-conception-on-the-morning-of-146016659.jpg

St Augustine, Bridgeport CT (not built as a cathedral): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dfli8ELXUAE_x3R.jpg

Immaculate Conception, Portland ME (too IMMACULATE in this reno - waaaay WHITE): https://i.pinimg.com/originals/57/75/e9/5775e9be856dd8bdc241e0846941d03b.jpg

St Peter's, Erie: https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/0e/a6/5d/49/i-like-this-cathedral.jpg

But St Andrew's in Little Rock does use an open bracket technique in the nave (but not aisles): https://www.jpalik.com/3-Architecture/LittleRockArchitecture/slides/Little Rock, Arkansas-3686.jpg

And St Joseph's in Manchester NH does in both: https://www.catholicnh.org/assets/Uploads/TopImages/top-Cathedral-Interior.jpg

With the Holy Cross Cathedral having been opened in time for Holy Week (the new sanctuary furnishings were dedicated on the day before Palm Sunday), here are two photos that offer a basic comparison of the visual changes (the aural changes are significant: the cathedral now has a 6-second reverb)

Before: https://www.cruisebe.com/sites/default/files/portofcallobject/commons/1/13/Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross,_Boston_1.jpg

After (Easter Sunday 11:30AM Mass): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D43Y9d9X4AcHKrZ.jpg

The interior also now has a modern climate control system (including air conditioning) and the attic also has a modern fire detection/prevention system.

And, just for one-post shopping reference, the exterior restoration comparison:

Before: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U2Cudb3Ad-w/TiRGo7Zu0gI/AAAAAAAACfM/x13LBEKh16c/s1600/IMG_1978.JPG

After:

Me and limos don't get along.....

I believe the piano is principally used by the music ministry for the Masses for the large local Spanish-speaking community (e.g., the mid-morning Mass on Sundays).

The organ, for now, is the Rogers electric organ - the balance of pipes of the venerable Hook in the gallery are still being restored and my understanding is that the Hook organ is scheduled to be operational sometime in June, at which point there will be another celebration.

I sat in my usual spot in most churches where I care about the music - towards the back of the front half, from which point I can help support fellow congregants best in singing. (For places for which I've learned the music is something to be endured, I have different logistical priorities in mind for my placement.)

Right now, the acoustical novelty is in balancing the amplification for *speech* - it's a much more reverberant space than was formerly the case, and the microphone-speaker distances have yet to be worked out. (My preference, as always, is for speakers to maintain a proclamatory tone and tempo as if they were not being amplified, and for mics to be placed further away from them....)

Singers, however, can sound wonderful with light or no amplification from their new placement in the south transept. Richard and the cantor Jamie sounded great. The miracle of marble floors. I've NOT been to a choral Mass there (11:30AM is just waaaay too late for this suburbanite's Sunday in the parking hellhole that is that part of Boston's South End, especially with the advent of the Sunday SoWa markets from now until the end of October), but I did record and listen to the major Holy Week liturgies on Boston Catholic TV (you can do so via its website, btw). One of my close friends who sang at the dedication and Chrism Masses said that, while the space has a proper cathedral reverb, it's not one choirs will have to fight because - unlike medieval cathedrals with all-stone interior surfaces - this 19th century cathedral's interior surface doesn't hurl back natural acoustical reverberation with a vengeance (though to my ear it does sound hostile for amplified speech for which the right balance will be the product of a longer work in progress).

The space sparkles* and the sound is lively. Neither of which are words with which I've previously associated this cathedral. The reactions of visitors are noticeably warm, receptive and marveling. I would consider this the end of one phase of a longer years-long endeavor that is more than the loving care of the fabric, as it were.

[I can anticipate criticisms from elsewhere of this interior renovation for failures to embrace what have often been considered benchmark conventional practices of the past thirty-five years: things like failing to put the main altar under the crossing, the restoration of the tabernacle in the old high altar (while there is a full Blessed Sacrament Chapel to the north) and restoration of the steps thereto, and failing to install an immersion font with flowing holy water near the narthex, et cet. I understand the bases for such potential criticisms, but I would not be offering them myself. I will note, however, that the beautiful font is awkward to actually use for anyone who is not a baby and perhaps even for babies - the width of the stone is perhaps too much. But that's just my sense of things. There will be many other opinions.]

* And also at night - all of the windows have been given night-lighting, which is a distinctly cooler-brighter LED K setting than the daytime setting (I've been there for the switch before the 8AM Masses - the 8AM Mass on Easter Sunday had perhaps upwards of a thousand people in attendance, more than the few hundred of Palm Sunday but even Palm Sunday was more than the usual few dozen for that time that would normally be in the Blessed Sacrament chapel. Newly Monsignored Rev. Kevin O'Leary was obviously pleasantly surprised).

PS: A note about the much-refurbished pews. Not only do they rest directly on the new marble floor, sans the former platforms that will not be missed, but they are spaced generously enough to allow easier movement of people passing seated congregants. In fact, far enough apart that people used to having seat supported-kneeling (as it were) might have less support than they were used to having. The kneelers are nicely designed.

I was child ten years after WWII and green was everywhere. It was the color at the time. It mercifully went away, or the designers sobered up, whichever. The darker greens seemed to come back in the eighties.

I hope some good recordings are made on the Hook when it goes back into service - I will buy them. I have not seen the organ or the cathedral. I seem to get distracted by the Mother Church Skinner and don't get around to anywhere else.

Strange! I was around in the post-war era and don't at all recall any emblematic green. Nor any colour-decade marriage since until recent times when we have been cursed with the boring colourlessnes of 'earth tones', pale browns, off whites, blacks and greys, with perhaps some brownish mauve thrown in for (attempted) excitement. That has been the de riguer colour code for at least the last twenty years and it seems like it will never go away. It's as if people are actually afraid of colour. Now, harking back to the post-war years, the only 'vogue' colour that I remember for a few years in the late fifties was turqoise and/or aqua. We had two turqoise Chevrolets, and our breakfast room was painted my mother's favourite colour (at that time) - turqoise. I've never been fond of turqoise - wasn't then and amn't now. (I mostly don't like anything Turkish [Turqoise] - they stole Hagia Sofia from us and desecrated it.) Green, on the other hand? I think it's a good colour. In fact, these days most any colour is good --- when you can find it in a field of boring colourless 'earth tones'.

I just replaced a car and the predominanant colors in the show room were black and silver/grey and a smattering of red. For the daring/flashy personality there was electric blue or hideous burnt orange. MJO is right that earth tones have taken over, but what does it mean? Perhaps, people will only express themselves online, but not with a little color in their life? Who knows?

If I may add something from a painter’s perspective, green is to be feared. Many painters won’t even attempt scenes with a predominance of that hue and in locales such as Great Britain plein air artists take a break from landscapes in summer. The green can simply overwhelm.

Since there is no green found in nature matching the greens sold in tubes by the traditional producers of artist paints, many of the more prominent artists instead create greens by mixing yellows and blues (each having warm or cool qualities thus giving a wide variety of results).

Here’s a test demonstrating the advantage and challenge of such mixing: what color is the north Atlantic ocean, even in summer?

[Answer: more often than not it tends toward a grayish green, thus you need to mix a blue, yellow with a touch of red. And no, you won’t get it right the first time around.]

there is no green found in nature matching the greens sold in tubes

In the mid-60s the UK government wanted to differentiate traffic signs by type of road. They came up with a colour code providing non fading colours which always contrast with nature's range of greens and blues - based on greens and blues (click on 'Direction signs') and it works!