National Register of Historic Places

St. Matthew's Cathedral Close

Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming
Listed
April 11, 1984
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
84003622

About this property

St. Matthew's Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral located in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Wyoming. The cathedral is a contributing property in the St. Matthew's Cathedral Close, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Matthew's was established in 1868. The Rt. Rev. Ethelbert Talbot, the first bishop of the newly created Missionary District of Wyoming and Idaho chose Laramie as his See city. He then led the effort to build St. Matthew's Cathedral from 1892 to 1896. The cathedral cornerstone was laid on September 21, 1892, and it was dedicated on December 17, 1896. The church was consecrated on August 11, 1901. The 1967 General Convention of the Episcopal Church created the Diocese of Wyoming. The first diocesan convention was held at St. Matthew's on January 30, 1968. The Diocese of Wyoming is contiguous with the state of Wyoming. The cathedral is a part of the St. Matthew's Cathedral Close historic district placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The other elements in the district include the Deanery, Hunter Hall (formerly known as Sherwood Hall), and the First World War Memorial Cross. New York City architect William Halsey Wood designed St. Matthew's Cathedral in the Gothic Revival style. The structure is built of native sandstone that was quarried nine miles northeast of Laramie. The church building is cruciform is shape with the bell tower and spire above the main entrance. The cross at the top of the spire is 118 feet (36 m) feet above the ground and 7,276 feet (2,218 m) feet above sea level, which makes St. Matthew's the highest cathedral in the United States. There are 11 bells in the tower that were cast by Meneely & Co., of Watervliet, New York. The clock on the tower was made by the E. Howard Clock Co. of Boston. Several artists created the cathedrals stained-glass windows. They include Heaton, Butler and Bayne of London and New York City, Charles Connick of Boston, and Rowan and Irene LeCompte of New York and Washington, D.C. The pipe organ was installed by the E.M. Skinner Organ Co. in 1925, Opus 523. It features four manuals, 51 ranks, and 3,111 pipes. The console was replaced in 1998 by a 1928 Casavant console, from Opus 1275, rebuilt by Morel & Associates. On October 3, 1922, a broadcasting station license was issued to "The Cathedral (Bishop Thomas)". The station call sign, KFBU, was randomly issued from an alphabetical list of available call letters. This was the first broadcasting station in the state of Wyoming, which was the last of the then 48 U.S. states to establish a broadcasting station.

Location

104 S. 4th St.
Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming
41.31243, -105.59310

Categories

ARCHITECTURERELIGION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Laramie Downtown Historic District
Civil War
0.1 mi
Blair, Charles E., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Bath Row
Industrial
0.2 mi
Ivinson Mansion and Grounds
Industrial
0.2 mi
Lehman-Tunnell Mansion
Industrial
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. Matthew's Cathedral Close listed on the National Register?

St. Matthew's Cathedral Close was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1984.

What type of historic resource is St. Matthew's Cathedral Close?

St. Matthew's Cathedral Close is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. Matthew's Cathedral Close?

The period of significance for St. Matthew's Cathedral Close is recorded as the listed era.

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