National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC is the largest Roman Catholic Church in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The Neo-Byzantine church was planned in the early 1900s, and the Crypt Church in the lower level was completed by 1926. However, work stalled for three decades during the Great Depression and then World War II. The Upper Church was finally dedicated in 1959. The Shrine's brightly colored, polychrome tile dome and 56-bell campanile are visible from many points in the District, including Capitol Hill. The inside of the church is filled with massive mosaics. The central mosaic of Christ in Majesty is the largest mosaic of Christ in the world, designed by Jan Henryk De Rosen in 1959, one of the foremost mosaic artists in the world at the time. Photo geeks note: The bell tower is vertical because I shot this with my large format camera and kept the back vertical. The rise required here pushed my bellows to the limit. I have since purchased the Arca-Swiss leather bag bellows, which has no trouble at all with any amount of rise. LENS: 90/8 | FILM: Polaroid Type 55 | EXPOSURE: f/22 at 2" | DATE: 08/03 |