The Founder of the Cathedral was the Right Rev. Horatio Potter, (Provisional Bishop 1854-1861 and Bishop of New York 1861-1887), who proposed it in 1872. The charter was granted by the Legislature of the state of New York in 1873. The Right Rev. Henry Codman Potter, (Assistant Bishop 1883-1887 and Bishop of New York 1887-1908), nephew and successor of Bishop Horatio Potter, actively forwarded the movement for raising funds in 1886. The Close was purchased from the Leake & Watts Orphan Asylum by deed dated October 31, 1891. The first service on the ground was held January 1, 1892. The corner-stone was laid on St. John’s Day, December 27, 1892.[9] The first service was held in the Crypt January 8, 1899, and the first service in the Choir and Crossing (being the consecration service) April 19, 1911. Ground was broken for the Nave May 8, 1916, by the Right Rev. David Hummell Greer, (Bishop Coadjutor 1904-1908 and Bishop of New York 1908-1919). The parts thus far built are the Crypt, Choir, seven Chapels of Tongues, Crossing and foundation for the Nave. The Mohegan golden granite for the walls of the Nave is now being quarried near Peekskill, N. Y., and is being delivered on the grounds. Some details of the Choir and Crossing are unfinished. The completed portion of the Cathedral has cost about $4,000,000, and it is estimated that the Nave, West Front, Transepts, Spire, etc., will cost about $15,000,000, making the total estimated cost about $19,000,000. Funds for Building Visitors to the Cathedral repeatedly ask when it will be finished. It is impossible to answer this question definitely. Some of the cathedrals of the Old World have been seven hundred years in building and are not yet completed. The things which endure the longest are generally of slow growth,[10] and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is no exception to this rule. It is not a steel-frame structure, but is of massive masonry in the best traditions of Gothic architecture and is being built to stand for ages. Its physical construction must therefore necessarily be slow.