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Overview

The Epsicopal Diocese of Olympia was created in 1910, with Saint Mark's Church in Seattle, designated as its cathedral. This grander church succeeded the previous Saint Mark's as the cathedral.

Building History

This church was not built as it was originally planned by the noted San Francisco architectural firm of Bakewell and Brown. They planned the Cathedral in 1926, and construction work began in 1928. By 1931, money for the church had evaporated, and the Episcopal community scrambled to assemble financing between 1931-1941. Bankers headquartered in Saint Louis, MO., foreclosed on the building's mortgage in 1941, and thereafter, it remained closed from 1941-1943. The U.S. Army leased it from 1943-1945 for use by its Artillery troops. Fund-raising by the Episcopal congregation succeeded in the mid-1940s, and the mortgage was paid off on Palm Sunday, 03/30/1947.

Building Notes

According to architectural historian (and minister) Dennis Andersen, Edouard Frere Champney, who once lived in Seattle, represented the San Francisco architectural firm, Bakewell and Brown, as its supervisor during the early phases of construction at the cathedral. (See Dennis A. Andersen, "Édouard Frère Champney," in Shaping Seattle Architecture, Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed., [Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994], p. 136.) Champney died in 1929, before the church's completion.

Alteration

The west end of the church was altered in 1958 to connect the cathedral with the a cathedral house, completed in 1959. This house contained Bloedell Hall, a church school, parish administrative offices and meeting rooms. Portions of the east well were demolished to enable a narthex to be built housing portions of the church organ. The parish constructed a free-standing altar in the sanctuary in 1967.

PCAD id: 8197