An inscription at the Ascension Greek Orthodox Church in Oakland, CA says that it was ordained as a cathedral in 1990. I especially enjoy the drought-resistant grounds they have throughout the property. What amazed me the most is that when I snapped a glasses case shut inside the cathedral, ordinarily just a little sound, it rang out very loud and sharp across the huge interior, probably due to it’s vaulted copper ceiling. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in such a live building. You could only imagine what our string quartet sounded like in there if a little glasses case could make such a sound. Still, one doesn’t need that kind of acoustics for strings to come off well. I can’t remember any church that’s disappointed me in it’s sound carrying abilities.
Here’s some favorite pics of the exterior:
This first pic is not the cathedral however part of it can be seen on the far left. This is a smaller structure of worship created years after and impressive by it’s copper-plated dome. You can see the view of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay in the background in both of these first two pictures.
Here’s the cathedral to the far left. There’s beautiful glass and copper art work throughout the interior. I liked the hue of the blue glass which actually was the walls around much of the interior. The sun shone through in the later afternoon and the hue created was almost magical.
Through the entire grounds are scenes like this.
This pond has different levels. It’s more beautiful than anything I captured here. I have to work on my photography skills!