National Cathedral Head Mason, Joe Alonso: “View from the Top”

In-person at the Cleveland Park Library

Joe Alonso came to the Cathedral in 1985 as a young journeyman stonemason to work on the final phase of the Cathedral’s construction, the West Towers, with its Gothic arches and intricate tracery. In a ceremony attended by 20,000 people and President George H.W. Bush on September 29, 1990, he set the final stone on the Southwest Tower. It was 83 years to the day that President Teddy Roosevelt set the foundation stone for the Cathedral. Joe became the Cathedral’s Head Mason and worked on the preservation and maintenance of its stone fabric. Joe was one of the first people to enter the Cathedral after the earthquake of August 2011. The extensive damage from that event signaled a return to construction and reconstruction mode, a task that has lasted for nearly 12 years. 

 Joe will give an illustrated brief history of the construction of the Cathedral, including the years of construction, restoration, stone carving, and the earthquake damage and repairs.