Amie's Portfolio

E603, Fall 2004

Texas Architecture Tour

Within Saint Maryâs Cathedral are structural unity and symmetry. The cathedralâs varied exterior evokes the feeling of adventure, mystery, and rusticism. Its interior is quiet, ordered, and exquisitely crafted.

I like the feeling of walking through the heavy front door ö stepping through it feels like entering another world. Once inside, I immediately notice the clean, smooth, white walls, ornamented with rich wood and gilded floral embellishments. The bright afternoon sunlight pours through brilliant stained glass windows. My favorite is at the back, a model of the famous window at Notre Dame.

The ceiling is ached in three love-like shapes, and ten hanging lamps add to the widnowsâ natural light.

Much of the building is not functional; it is beautiful. All together, the cathedral feels otherworldly, sacred. The details and artistry make it clear that this is not just another building ö it is set apart for something special.

Looking up into the dome, I sense the vastness communicated by its architects. Finally giving a home to the authority of a land so prolific and dynamic as Texas, the capitol fulfills its duty of expressing power and permanence. Only when I placed my head in the very center of the star on the floor was I able to see the entire dome ö in years past, though I had thought I was standing under the center of the dome, my pictures always came out crooked (I remember returning home from a sixth grade fieldtrip and getting my pictures developed, only to be dismayed at how asymmetrical the dome looked in all my pictures!).

The echoes of voices bounce on anon in the rotunda, making me hush my own voice. This importance of sound reminds me of the silence I noticed in St. Maryâs ö both buildings seem to convey power and permanence.