0973 UNITED STATES (New York) - St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City

The Cathedral of St. Patrick is prominent landmark of New York City, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue, between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan, across the street from Rockefeller Center. Designed by James Renwick, Jr. in the Gothic Revival style, it replaced the Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral in downtown Manhattan as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Its cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1858, but the work was halted during the Civil War, being resumed in 1865 and completed in 1878. The spires were added in 1888, and an addition on the east, including a Lady chapel, designed by Charles T. Mathews, was begun in 1900. The Lady Chapel's stained-glass windows were made between 1912 and 1930 by Paul Vincent Woodroffe. In 1927 and 1931, the cathedral was renovated, which included enlarging the sanctuary and installing the great organ.

The cathedral, which can accommodate 2,200 people, is built of brick clad in marble, quarried in Massachusetts and New York, and the slate for the roof came from Monson, Maine. The windows were made by artists in Boston, Massachusetts and European artists from Chartres (France) and Birmingham (England). Charles Connick created the rose window. In 2012 was announced the renovation of the church, in three-phase, because of crumbling bricks, faulty heating, and acid rain and pollution. The first phase, which involves repairing, restoring, and cleaning the soot-covered exterior, and an extensive cleaning of the outside and inside surfaces of the stained glass windows, is nearing completion. 

About the stamps
On the first postcard
The first stamp, depicting a silver coffeepot (3c), is part of the definitives series American Design (2002-2007), about which I wrote here. The second is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here. The third, depicting the characters Carl Fredricksen and Dug from the animated film Up, belongs to the series Send a Hello (Forever), about which I wrote here.

On the second postcard
The first stamp, depicting aa american toleware (5c), is part of the definitives series American Design (2002-2007), about which I wrote here. The second is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here. The third, depicting the characters Lightning McQueen and Mater from the animated film Cars, belongs to the series Send a Hello (Forever), about which I wrote here.

References
St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) - Wikipedia

sender 1, 2: Denise
1: sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 10.01.2014
2: sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 10.01.2014