Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Boston, Massachusetts

BEFORE: In the late 1990s, a company approached the Archdiocese of Boston and told them they could save a lot of energy and money by installing compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps in the main Catholic cathedral – the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in South Boston. This completely washed out any definition of the beautiful architectural details!
AFTER the 1998 lighting renovation, all of the architectural details are highlighted. That includes the beautiful wood ceiling which is 100’ above the floor of the nave. Because they already pulled power wires up to fixture locations before hiring me to consult on the lighting design, they were limited in how much power was available to light every part of the cathedral. However, the overall effect was still very impressive.
The Corinthian column capitals are 30’ above the nave floor. High-wattage PAR56 track fixtures with rectangular beam patterns uplight the wood ceiling 70’ above. Smaller track fixtures located below the capitals provide light on the pews below. This lighting renovation happened at a point in time which was before the LED era. The cathedral went through a much more substantial renovation in 2018 which, as you might imagine, included upgrading to LED fixtures.
The Corinthian column capitals are 30’ above the nave floor. High-wattage PAR56 track fixtures with rectangular beam patterns uplight the wood ceiling 70’ above. Smaller track fixtures located below the capitals provide light on the pews below. This lighting renovation happened at a point in time which was before the LED era. The cathedral went through a much more substantial renovation in 2018 which, as you might imagine, included upgrading to LED fixtures.
Many beautiful details were highlighted as a result of the 1998 lighting renovation. Gilded angels at the intersections of the nave and transept vaults were lit by concealed track lights. These beautiful details could not possibly have been highlighted using CFL lamps. That’s a cautionary tale about lighting retrofits without considering any design issues whatsoever. Note that additional track fixtures are located behind this vault intersection, which throw light on the pulpit and baptismal font below.
Many beautiful details were highlighted as a result of the 1998 lighting renovation. Gilded angels at the intersections of the nave and transept vaults were lit by concealed track lights. These beautiful details could not possibly have been highlighted using CFL lamps. That’s a cautionary tale about lighting retrofits without considering any design issues whatsoever. Note that additional track fixtures are located behind this vault intersection, which throw light on the pulpit and baptismal font below.