The Stoneyard at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine was dedicated on June 21, 1979, and on September 29, 1982, aerialist Philippe Petit crossed Amsterdam Avenue on a 150 foot-high wire to deliver a silver trowel to Bishop Paul Moore, marking the start of the next phase of construction for the Cathedral. Because stonecraft was a moribund skill in the United States, professionals had to be brought from England to train the stoneworkers. The great work of building the world’s largest cathedral was underway again. Blocks were cut, and both the North and South Towers progressed upward.

When Mayor Edward Koch addressed the festive gathering at the Stoneyard’s dedication in 1979, he stated, “I am told that some of the great cathedrals took over five hundred years to build. But I would like to remind you that we are only in our first hundred years.” The Cathedral is now in its second century, which has offered its own snags. In the early 1990’s, the United States was lagging in an economic recession, and the work on the towers was again brought to a halt.