When Spanish architect Raphael Guastavino came to the U.S. in 1881, he already had a reputation for creating grand arches, domes, and vaults in Europe. Within a few years, his work caught the attention of Richard Morris Hunt, head architect for Biltmore House.
He was commissioned by Hunt to create the decorative tile vaulting at Biltmore House, including the hall ceilings around the Winter Garden. His tile work in the Swimming Pool is reminiscent of the vaulting in New York City’s earliest subway stations, another Guastavino design.
After his work on Biltmore House, Guastavino also remained in the area, focusing on two projects near and dear to his heart. His masterpiece—St. Lawrence Basilica in downtown Asheville—is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the architect is buried there.
Around the country, more than 1,000 buildings feature his designs, including his signature vaulting, including the Boston Public Library, New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Carnegie Hall, and the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo.
A hidden body of ancient spiritual wisdom lies encoded in the architecture of the Bronx Zoo in New York City. It was put there by the architects and stonemasons who designed and built the zoo’s central structures at the turn of the last century. This wisdom is akin to the “lost” doctrine of the Freemasons and bears every evidence of having been designed and built by (true operative) Masons. Visible in the shape, blueprint, layout and iconography of the zoo’s key buildings and landmarks, the message conveyed is one of spiritual illumination, aimed at leading a seeker toward expanded consciousness, nirvana, and ultimately the higher Self.
Rafael Guastavino Moreno (Valencia, Spain, March 1, 1842 – Asheville, North Carolina, February 1, 1908) was a Spanish building engineer and builder.[1] Based on the Catalan vault he created the Guastavino tile, a "Tile Arch System" patented in the United States in 1885 used for constructing robust, self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar. Guastavino tile is found in some of New York's most prominent Beaux-Arts landmarks and in major buildings across the United States. It is used in a huge number of architecturally important and famous buildings with vaulted spaces.
In 1900, New York architects Heins & LaFarge hired Guastavino to help construct City Hall station, the underground showpiece for the IRT, the first part of the then-new New York City Subway. The station, although elegant, was never convenient or popular, and after it closed in 1945 it became a legendary abandoned Manhattan underground relic, the secret of subway buffs and urban spelunkers. Guastavino also installed the ceiling of the south arcade of the Manhattan Municipal Building, which was constructed during 1907-1914.
Heins & LaFarge was a New York-based architectural firm composed of the Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins (1860–1907) and Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), the eldest son of the artist John La Farge. They were responsible for the original Romanesque-Byzantine east end and crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, and for the original Astor Court buildings of the Bronx Zoo
The destruction of New York city (including the Twin Towers) sculpted right on the building... Strange occult symbols on the floor... Weird rituals being performed in the sanctuary... Home of the Temple of Understanding which admittedly seeks to instate a new world religion... This cathedral is definitively "different", as some people might say. But the "difference" lies in the fact that the cathedral is in fact a temple for the occult elite...
This unfinished building has been claimed as being the world's largest cathedral. It is realistic to maintain such high aspirations when your sources of funding include tycoons like JP Morgan and prominent figures like the Grand Master of the Masons of the state of New York. The completion of the cathedral was such a prized accomplishment for the Freemasons that it was featured on the front page of "Masonic World" of March 1925.
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letsdothis2 ago
The 'pool' at the Biltmore mansion: https://www.biltmore.com/Blog/article/guastavinos-architectural-influence-in-asheville
The Occult Symbolism of the Bronx Zoo - http://www.richardcassaro.com/the-occult-symbolism-of-the-bronx-zoo/
letsdothis2 ago
Rafael Guastavino - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Guastavino
Heins & LaFarge - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heins_%26_LaFarge
Sinister Sites - St. John The Divine Cathedral - https://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-st-john-the-divine-cathedral/