Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, New Mexico

This is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This Catholic Cathedral was built from 1869 through 1886  in the Romanesque style, although the style is not completely obvious as the spires planned for the church, a prominent feature of that style, were never installed.

The cathedral was built on the location of an earlier church, La Parroquia, which had been built in 1714 through 1717, and which itself stood on the location of a church built in 1626 that had been destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt.  A small portion of the earlier church was incorporated in the construction of the cathedral.

An interesting feature of this church is that it is located only two blocks away from San Miguel church.  This tends to show the Catholic concentration of the community at the time these various churches were built, as they were being built in close proximity to each other.  Santa Fe retains at least one more downtown Catholic church today.

St. Josephs Old Cathedral, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

This is St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Oklahoma City, a Catholic parish church at the present time, having gone to parish status in 1931 after a new cathedral was built.  The church was built in 1905.  Like the First Church, a block away, it was heavily damaged in the Murrah Federal Office bombing.

St. Matthews Episcopal Cathedral, Laramie Wyoming

This is the impressive St. Matthews Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming. This photograph was one I took in 1986, but the Cathedral appears largely the same today.

One oddity about this Cathedral is that the Episcopal diocese's offices are actually in Casper, Wyoming. While I don't know for sure, I think that this likely reflects the age of this cathedral, which is fairly old. At the time it was built, only southern Wyoming was relatively populated, and Laramie was a bit of a center of culture, being the site of the university, and of certain English interests that had entered the ranching industry and headquartered there. "Ivinson Street", for example, is named after one such family. The Cathedral does have a large administrative building, built in a Gothic style, which were likely the Diocese's administrative offices.


In later years, Cheyenne or Casper would prove to be more logical administrative centers, and in recent years the Episcopal Church apparently chose Casper as their administrative headquarters.

An adjoining courtyard to the Cathedral features a nice World War One memorial.

Cathedral of the Holy Family, Tulsa Oklahoma

  

These photographs were taken in low light, and therefore they are unfortunately not too good.

These depict Tulsa's Catholic Cathedral, Holy Family Cathedral. Like the other Tulsa churches depicted here, this Cathedral is located in a downtown district featuring many churches. The Cathedral features Gothic and Romanesque architecture and was built in 1914. It was the tallest building in Tulsa at the time it was built. It's a much better looking church than these photographs would suggest.

The church was not built as a cathedral, but became one when Diocese of Tulsa was established in 1972.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Cathedral

This Cathedral's exterior, while impressive in its own right, is a bit deceptive as the interior is extremely impressive and very large. This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral for the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota.

Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Denver

This is the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Denver Colorado, the Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral. It's in a neighborhood with heavy traffic, so these photographs were taken from a vehicle, making them less than ideal. The Cathedral offices, which look like a Greek Orthodox Church, are on the same ground and are also included here. Theotokos roughly translates as Mother of God, so the Cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Roman Catholic Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe (Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe), Dallas Texas

These photographs are not great, as I was too close to the Cathedral when I took them. Hopefully they convey some idea of the the appearance of this High Victorian Gothic Cathedral.

Dedicated in 1902 as the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, this cathedral was renamed the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe in 1977, when another aging Dallas church dedicated to the Lady of Guadalupe was torn down. This cathedral has the second largest parish congregation in the United States.

The steeple on this cathedral was only completed fairly recently, although it was always part of the original design.

St. Mark's Episocopal Cathedral, Salt Lake City Utah

This is St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Salt Lake City, Utah. This photograph happened to be taken on Tuesday of Holy Week, around noon, and obviously something was occurring at the Cathedral at the time.

Construction for this Cathedral started in 1870, and was completed in 1874. It sustained damage in a fire in 1935 but is in fine shape today.

An interesting item to note here is that dedicating Episcopal churches to St. Mark is apparently very common in this region. In addition to this Cathedral, Casper Wyoming has a substantial Episcopal Church by that name, and Cheyenne has a church that is a contemporary to this Cathedral also by that name.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver Colorado

This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral for the Archdiocese of Denver. This impressive church is difficult to photograph, due to it's downtown location and towering heights. It was built in 1911-1912.

St. John in the Wilderness Cathedral, Denver Colorado

This is the Episcopal Cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. Located in Central Denver, construction on the church was started in 1909 and completed in 1911.

These photographs do not do it justice. The cathedral and associated buildings take up an entire city block.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Cheyenne Wyoming

This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral for the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Located in downtown Cheyenne, the cornerstone was laid in 1907 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1909.

This Roman Catholic Cathedral is a contemporary, in terms of construction, to the Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake City, Utah. I noted this as the Cathedral of the Madeline, at least according to its corner stone, was originally called St. Mary's Cathedral. In early 20th Century terms Salt Lake and Cheyenne were quite some distance away, but that distance could still be traveled in a day on the Union Pacific, so it's interesting to note that two St. Mary's Cathedrals were being constructed in the region at the same time.

The Cathedral is on a block called "Cathedral Square", which is located across the street in one direction from the Joseph C. O'Mahoney Federal Courthouse and, in another direction, from the Wyoming Supreme Court. It is about two blocks away from the Wyoming State Capitol.

Cathedral of the Madeline, Salt Lake City Utah

Some cell phone and compact digital photographs of the impressive Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This impressive Cathedral was started in 1900, and completed in 1909. In some ways, it is representative of the significant Irish presence in the area which started in this time period, as Irish immigrants arrived in the Salt Lake area to work as miners. As can be see, while it is now known as the Cathedral of the Madeline, the corner stone indicates that it was at least built as St. Mary's Cathedral, which of course is consistent. It's interesting to note, however, that this Roman Catholic cathedral was under construction at the same time that St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne Wyoming was, so two Roman Catholic Cathedrals by that name were under construction in the same region, at the same time.