Worst cathedral EVER

"We've got the worst cathedral ever," groaned my wife as the local newscasts displayed crowds of the Catholic faithful gathering before magnificent cathedrals around the world but ended up at our brand new L.A. Cathedral, which looks less like a place of worship than a secret police headquarters. It resembles a more angular, more awkward version of the Bastille.

Why does the Catholic Church, of all institutions, feel the need for novelty in architecture? Innovation is all very fine in things that cost less than $170 million and are supposed to last for less than centuries, but with countless wonderful traditional styles of churches to draw from, what are the odds that a new design will also prove to be a good design? And why choose an intellectualized design (it is supposed to deconstruct and abstract the design elements of the Spanish Mission style) for a congregation that is not among the best-educated? Why not use the indigenous Spanish Mission style?

A reader writes:

And remember, there is nothing that cures banal architecture like plenty of tall, full trees with lots of foliage. Trees have done wonders for I. M. Pei's East Wing of the National Gallery on the mall.

A few redwoods would fix everything.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer