Case Study: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine achieves world-class, streamlined security monitoring with Vicon Valerus

The World’s Largest Cathedral Trusts Vicon to Deliver World-Class Security

The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the world’s largest cathedral and a busy 11.3‑acre landmark in Manhattan hosting daily services, concerts, exhibitions and high‑profile events, needed a modern surveillance solution to cover its complex grounds, challenging interior lighting and heavy public traffic, and to share footage with NYPD and neighborhood security. To meet these needs the Cathedral worked with Vicon, upgrading to the Vicon Valerus VMS and adding high‑resolution Vicon IP cameras to replace and expand its older system.

Vicon implemented the Valerus platform with multiple recording servers and a growing fleet of cameras (now more than 70 Vicon megapixel units) to provide near‑complete coverage of the Close. The result: security staff can view many more cameras simultaneously (up to 99 on one screen), perform faster searches, archiving and exporting, and monitor the site more efficiently with fewer roving guards; high‑resolution zooms have captured license plates and facial detail and the system has helped reduce liability exposure from accidents and improved support for investigations with local law enforcement.

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

Geoff Smith

Director of Technology