Instant Cities: New York

New York › Places and landmarks

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The Gothic cathedral of white marble on Fifth Avenue, facing Rockefeller Center.

See it in 3D Watch the tour

Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of New York, was built from 1858 to 1878 to the design of James Renwick Jr., paid for partly by the small gifts of Irish immigrants. Its two spires, finished in 1888, rise about 100 metres over Fifth Avenue.

When it was built, this part of Manhattan was still nearly empty; now the cathedral stands among towers, opposite the bronze Atlas of Rockefeller Center. Every March the St. Patrick’s Day Parade marches past its steps. Visit it in 3D ›

More in New York

Empire State BuildingThe Art Deco tower on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, the tallest building in the world from 1931 to 1970. Times SquareThe crossing of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, under walls of lit screens, at the heart of the Theater District. Chrysler BuildingThe Art Deco tower on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, with a crown of steel arches and a needle on top. Grand Central TerminalThe great railway station on 42nd Street, with its hall under a ceiling of stars and its clock of opal. New York Public LibraryThe marble library on Fifth Avenue, guarded by the two stone lions Patience and Fortitude. Rockefeller CenterThe Art Deco towers between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, with the golden Prometheus, the skating rink and the Christmas tree. Bryant ParkThe green lawn behind the Public Library, with its plane trees, its green chairs and in winter its ice rink. Macy’s Herald SquareOne of the largest department stores in the world, on 34th Street, where the Thanksgiving Day Parade ends. Statue of LibertyThe copper statue in the harbour, a gift from France, that greeted the ships of the immigrants. Central ParkThe great park in the middle of Manhattan, four kilometres long, just north of the game’s map. Yellow cabsThe yellow taxis of New York, which you hail from the kerb with a raised hand. New York pizzaThe big, thin pizza sold by the slice, to be folded in half and eaten on the street.