Inside $175 Million Restoration of St. Patrick's Cathedral

On an average day at St. Patrick's Cathedral, anywhere from 80 to 100 workers clamber up ladders and across platforms that stretch into the heights of the Neo-Gothic vaulted ceilings. They painstakingly rub masks over marble and plaster surfaces to remove decades of dirt, restore wood detailing to its former luster, and brighten each tiny, luminous shard of the discolored stained-glass windows. It's all part of the ongoing $175 million restoration of the iconic house of worship, which opened its doors in 1879 and last underwent a major fix-up in 1970s. The project started in 2012 and is slated finish up next year. Among the major achievements thus far was to clean the 80-foot spires facing Fifth Avenue, which is why they're no longer shrouded in scaffolding.