Darth Vader Grotesque — Jay Hall Carpenter and Patrick J. Plunkett, Washington

💡 5 things to know

1. A child’s drawingChristopher Rader of Kearney, Nebraska, was 13 when he drew Darth Vader for a competition spread nationwide through National Geographic World magazine. Carpenter and the cathedral call it the third-place entry; WETA calls it one of three runners-up. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture Checked
2. Clay first, then stoneCarpenter sculpted the helmet from Rader’s drawing and stills from the films; stone carver Patrick J. Plunkett then carved the grotesque from limestone. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 Checked
3. Not a gargoyleA cathedral spokesperson told FOX 5 that the head helps bounce rainwater off the building but has no water pipe in its mouth, so it is a grotesque. FOX 5 DC, 5 May 2022 · Washington National Cathedral, Fun facts Checked
4. Bring binocularsWETA says the grotesque is only visible with binoculars; TravelHost adds that a clear day helps. WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 · TravelHost via AOL, 14 Nov 2025 Checked
5. A clue in a novelCarpenter writes that the Vader sculpture appears as a clue in Dan Brown’s book The Lost Symbol. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 Reported

📍 Check-in guide

🗓️ Sightings

1. 1986

   Installed · WETA history

2. 20094 Jul

   Photo · Cyraxote, Commons

3. 2017

   Record · Cathedral, Google Arts & Culture

4. 202119 Aug

   Photo · press tour, FOX 5 DC

5. 202514 Nov

   Video reported · TravelHost

Every stamp links to its source. Green stamps carry photographs: Cyraxote’s photo, dated 4 July 2009 on its Commons page (the photo shown above), and the press-tour photo of 19 August 2021 published by FOX 5 DC, the newest dated photo we found. Amber stamps are reports: WETA’s history gives 1986 as the year of installation; the cathedral’s Google Arts & Culture record is dated 2017; and TravelHost reported on 14 November 2025 a TikTok video taken in early November 2025 that shows the bust, which we have not seen ourselves, so the status stamp rests on the 2021 photo.

📰 On the record

✅ The facts

Title

Darth Vader Grotesque. Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 Checked

Design

Christopher Rader, aged 13, of Kearney, Nebraska; his drawing took third place in the cathedral’s children’s competition. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture Checked

Sculptor

Jay Hall Carpenter, the cathedral’s first sculptor-in-residence according to WETA, who modelled the helmet in clay. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture Checked

Stone carver

Patrick J. Plunkett. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture Checked

Material

Limestone. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 Checked

Competition

A children’s design-a-grotesque competition held while the west towers were under construction, spread through National Geographic World magazine; WETA dates the contest issue to April 1984 and the winners’ announcement to February 1986. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture · WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 Checked

Installed

1986, according to WETA’s history. WETA Boundary Stones, 3 May 2023 Reported

Location

High on the northwest tower of Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. Jay Hall Carpenter, 16 Dec 2015 · Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture · Washington National Cathedral, Fun facts · FOX 5 DC, 5 May 2022 Checked

Function

Helps bounce rainwater off the building; no water pipe in its mouth, so a grotesque rather than a gargoyle. FOX 5 DC, 5 May 2022 · Washington National Cathedral, Fun facts Checked

Status

Photographed on a pinnacle of the cathedral during a press tour on 19 August 2021. FOX 5 DC, 5 May 2022 Checked TravelHost reported a TikTok video taken in early November 2025 that shows the bust. TravelHost via AOL, 14 Nov 2025 Reported

Our photo

Cyraxote’s public-domain photo of the grotesque on the northwest tower, dated 4 July 2009 on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons · Street Art Utopia, 19 Oct 2026 Checked

🔗 Related

• Look Closer at These Old Buildings (11 Photos): the SAU collection with the Darth Vader Grotesque

All sources (8)

Artist

• Jay Hall Carpenter: “Darth Vader and Other Stars”, 16 December 2015. Rader’s third-place drawing, Carpenter’s sculpting, Plunkett’s carving in limestone, the northwest tower.

Official

• Washington National Cathedral on Google Arts & Culture: Darth Vader Grotesque, record dated 2017. Competition, credits and northwest tower.
• Washington National Cathedral: Fun facts. A sculpture of Darth Vader, technically a grotesque, on one of the northwest towers.

Press

• WETA Boundary Stones: “Luke, I Am Your… Gargoyle? : How Darth Vader Came to the National Cathedral”, 3 May 2023, by Emma O’Neill-Dietel. The 1984–86 competition, the credits, installation in 1986, binoculars.
• FOX 5 DC: “Darth Vader grotesque draws Star Wars fans to National Cathedral”, 5 May 2022, by Jacqueline Matter. Press-tour photo of 19 August 2021; quotes from spokesperson Kevin Eckstrom.
• TravelHost via AOL: “The Washington National Cathedral has a bizarre hidden detail some tourists are just noticing”, 14 November 2025, by Lauren Wellbank. A TikTok video from early November 2025; binoculars and a clear day.

Photos

• Wikimedia Commons: Darth vader grotesque (cropped).jpg, by Cyraxote, dated 4 July 2009, public domain (PD-self). The hero and share image.
• Street Art Utopia: Look Closer at These Old Buildings (11 Photos), 19 October 2026. The SAU post with this photo.

Artwork File · Last checked 19 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files