Emilio Tarlier designed the Basílica del Voto Nacional in Quito, inspired by Bourges Cathedral. Father Julio Matovelle proposed the monument in 1883, and President Luis Cordero issued the decree. Funding came from congressional allocations, donations and a salt tax in 1895. The first stone was placed on July 10, 1892, and the cathedral was built from 1892 to 1909.
The Neo-Gothic basilica is 460 feet (140 meters) long and 115 feet (35 meters) wide, with a sanctuary 98 feet (30 meters) high. Clock towers hold a viewing platform that visitors can reach for a small fee, and a rose window fills the west transept.
Pope John Paul II blessed it in 1985, and it was consecrated in 1988. The crypt holds the National Pantheon of Ecuador. The article calls it technically unfinished and notes a local legend tying the world's end to its completion.
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