Basilica Of The Assumption, Baltimore

The Basilica of the Assumption is so important it is the first building listed on the Baltimore City section of Medusa. It is the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States and was designed by Benjamin Latrobe, who was also the architect of the Capital, just 40 miles south. 

The main part of the church was completed in 1818, but the porch, part of Latrobe's original design, wasn't added until the 1860's.

The onion-shaped domes on the towers, added in 1863, were not part of the original design. 

The large windows in the church were originally plain glass, but were changed to stained glass at some point in the 1800's. In a major renovation and restoration in the 1990's, the windows were changed back to the original plain glass. 

One of the seminal elements of the Basilica is the dome on an octagonal drum, and "one is conscious of a superbly successful combination of the sphere and cube." 

If you take a tour of the Basilica, be sure to see the vaults beneath the main part of the church. 

Link to Medusa.