washington 1

 The Basilica 

of the National Shrine 

of the Immaculate Conception... 

is a large Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located in Washington DC, adjacent to the Catholic University of America. The shrine is the largest Roman Catholic church in the United States and in North America, and one of the largest in the world. The basilica is also the tallest habitable building in Washington DC. 

Its construction of Byzantine Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture began on September 23, 1920, with renowned contractor John McShain and was completed on December 8, 2017, with the dedication and solemn blessing of the Trinity Dome mosaic.

Architects: Maginnis & Walsh

The basilica houses 81 Marian chapels 

(including the Our Mother of Africa Chapel)

as well as other sacred images, flanking the sides... 

of the Great Upper Church and the Crypt Church. 

They were designed to reflect the origins of Catholic Americans... 

and the religious orders whose generosity erected them.

Its Greek-styled interior is crowned with numerous domes decorated in mosaics, similar to the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, Italy, but much larger. The mosaics feature American renditions of traditional Catholic images. 

[Polish] artist Jan Henryk De Rosen, who presided over the shrine's iconography committee, was also responsible for much of its decor, including composing the large mosaic over the northern apse.

There are arches outlined with iridescent [iriserende] [Michigan] Pewabic Pottery tile, large ceramic medallions set in the ceiling, and fourteen Stations of the Cross in the Crypt Church.

[wikipedia]