Last weekend we toured the old St. Patrick’s basilica, the original Roman Catholic cathedral in NYC. It burned in 1866 and was replaced by the familiar, current St. Patrick’s on 5th Ave. in midtown.

The old basilica is actually quite small and humble. Many prominent Catholic New Yorkers from the 19th century are buried in the catacombs below. The church still serves its local parishioners with daily services.

My favorite part of the tour was seeing the guts of the 1868 pipe organ.