New York City’s Largest Unfinished Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine remains incomplete despite construction beginning in 1892. Because it has been built in various styles over a century, locals playfully call it St. John the Unfinished.

This massive structure in Manhattan was originally planned in a Romanesque style before switching to Gothic designs mid-construction. Due to changes in architectural leadership, funding gaps, and the impacts of two world wars, the cathedral never reached its final proposed design. It currently functions as a living monument where stone carvers still work on unfinished sections. Visitors can even see the jagged, bare stone left intentionally exposed for future expansion.