The Nation - News from June 30, 1987

The last of six 1,500-pound bronze gates, sculpted by a German who taught himself to carve while in a World War II American prisoner-of-war camp, were hoisted into place on the Washington Cathedral’s main entrance. The three pairs of gates were created in beeswax in West Germany by sculptor Ulrich Henn before being cast in bronze and shipped to the United States. Henn then broke all the molds to ensure that each gate is “absolutely unique.” Construction of the Episcopal cathedral began in 1907. It is expected to be complete by 1990.