Washington, D.C., District of Columbia story
A Galactic Grotesque
If you look up at the Northwest Tower of the Washington National Cathedral, you'll find a figure that doesn't quite fit the traditional religious mold. It's Darth Vader. This pop-…
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If you look up at the Northwest Tower of the Washington National Cathedral, you'll find a figure that doesn't quite fit the traditional religious mold. It's Darth Vader. This pop-culture carving was born from a children's design competition in the mid-eighties.
A thirteen-year-old from Nebraska named Chris Rader submitted the concept, which won third prize. The figure was then modeled by Jay Hall Carpenter and carved by Patrick Plunkett, finally being installed in 1986. Now, while it looks like a gargoyle, it's technically a grotesque, because it doesn't actually function as a water drain.
It's just a silent, cinematic sentinel watching over the city.
Updated June 2026