/internal/media/dispatcher/49884/fullBlack and white photograph of St. Matthew's Cathedral11/25/19633 1/4 × 3 5/16 in. (8.3 × 8.4 cm)PaperDavid and Susan Hall Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2003.062.00010One small black and white photograph of St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., taken by the donor, Susan Hall, on Monday, November 25, 1963, the day of President John F. Kennedy's funeral.
Image shows the front of St. Matthew's Cathedral, where President Kennedy’s funeral Mass was held, with a light-colored cloth that has a thick black border along the bottom edge draped over the main entry doorway into the church. Leafless trees are visible in the foreground on either side of the main entry of St. Matthew's. A thin light-colored line appears to be a scratch across the center of the image, but is actually a wire in the image. The dome of St. Matthew's is partially obscured in the background in the upper left of the image. A female figure is seen walking into the doorway on the left side of the image; a man is seen along the lower edge in the foreground at the bottom of the steps leading up into the church. Another figure is seated near the bottom of the steps on a low wall in the lower left corner of the image.
Photograph has thin white border around edge. Image printed on Kodak Paper; reverse of photograph has "Kodak (R) Paper" printed repeatedly on a diagonal in pale gray.
Photograph is in very good condition. Small dark dot of a stain on reverse near top edge. (JM 10/25/2017)Photographs658918.41376682758.255000000024518Photograph (b&w)Black and white photographic print of St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington D.C., taken by Susan Hall on Monday, November 25, 1963, the day of President John F. Kennedy's funeral.
Image shows the front of St. Matthew's Cathedral, where President Kennedy’s funeral Mass was held. The dome of St. Matthew's is partially visible in the background in the upper left of the image.PhotographsMourningFuneralKennedy, John F.St. Matthew's CathedralWashington, D.C.Included in the Museum's temporary exhibit, "Mourning a President," about the funeral and mourning rites for President John F. Kennedy, this item will be on display on the Museum's seventh floor from November 17, 2017 to February 19, 2018. -- Lindsey Richardson, Curator of CollectionsThis Washington D.C. cathedral is named for Saint Matthew the Apostle, the patron saint of civil servants. The parish church was originally established in 1840 in a different location, with construction of the current church beginning in 1893. It was designed by New York architect Christopher Grant LaFarge of the firm Heins and LaFarge. The first Mass was celebrated there on June 2, 1895, with the completed church formally dedicated in 1913. It was designated a cathedral in 1939 when the Archdiocese of Washington was established. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator