The Cathedral of Tomorrow was a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...

History

The building was built in 1958 by

Rex Humbard Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard (August 13, 1919 – September 21, 2007) was an American television evangelist whose ''Cathedral of Tomorrow'' show was aired on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity. Life and career Humbard was born o ...

. The Cathedral, a round building with the sanctuary in the middle and classrooms and offices around the edges, seats 5,400. It has a domed roof with a large illuminated cross that hangs from the ceiling. The cross weighs 32 tons (to give the domed roof greater architectural strength during wind storms) and is illuminated with 4,700 lights which can change colors. It is one of the largest interior crosses in the world. When the cathedral was built it was the largest permanently domed building in the world without interior pillar support. This gives the audience greater visibility toward the stage. Under Humbard's ministry, Cathedral services were broadcast on 600 television stations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, as well as on stations in many other countries. The influential

gospel quartet The term Gospel quartet refers to several different traditions of harmony singing. Its origins are varied, including 4-part hymn singing, shape note singing, barbershop quartets, jubilee songs, spirituals, and other Gospel songs. Gospel quartets ...

the

Cathedral Quartet The Cathedral Quartet, also known as the Cathedrals, was an American southern gospel quartet who performed from 1964 to December 1999. The group's final lineup consisted of Glen Payne (lead), George Younce (bass), Ernie Haase (tenor), Scott ...

was formed at the Cathedral of Tomorrow (hence the group's name), originally as a trio.

Cathedral Tower

In 1971, Humbard began to build a rotating tower restaurant, similar to

Calgary Tower The Calgary Tower is a free standing observation tower in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally called the Husky Tower, it was conceived as a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky Oil as part of an ...

, at his Cathedral of Tomorrow complex, which was also slated to hold a transmission tower for his planned local TV station, WCOT-TV (Channel 55; the license was later used by current day (now former) CW affiliate

WBNX-TV WBNX-TV (channel 55) is an independent station (North America), independent television station licensed to Akron, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area. The station is owned by the Winston Broadcasting Network subsidiary of locally ba ...

). Construction work started on September 10, but stopped in November when the concrete tower was in height. Neighbors filed lawsuits and Northampton Township, the community governing the Cathedral complex at that time, said that there were no provisions for water and sewer service for the tower. The actual reason for the end of construction is still an open issue. In 1973, Humbard announced scaled-back plans to house a museum, library and prayer center in the tower. By 1978, the project was still unfinished, with Humbard saying "Someday we'll finish it, and it'll be a landmark." In 1989 local grocer and lone bidder Mike Krieger bid $30,000 to win the auction at a sheriff's sale held to raise money to pay toward debts owed to the tower's builder. The tower later saw use as a cellular phone tower.

Legacy

After Humbard moved his ministry to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the 1980s, the Cathedral of Tomorrow remained in operation as a local church with services conducted by local pastors who had increasingly fewer ties with the Humbard family. As a result, attendances began to dwindle. However, Humbard would continue to guest-speak on occasion. In 1994, the Cathedral was sold to the Reverend

Ernest Angley Ernest Winston Angley (August 9, 1921 – May 7, 2021) was an American Christian evangelist, author, and television station owner who was based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio from the 1950s until his death in 2021. Ernest Angley was a native of Moores ...

's ministry, and was rededicated as Grace Cathedral, the name of Angley's previous house of worship. It's adjacent to an office complex that contains a diorama museum called ''The Life Of Christ'' which was a lifelong sculpture work by artist Paul Cunningham, and a very popular family style restaurant called the ''Cathedral Buffet''. Angley also purchased the Cathedral of Tomorrow's television studio facilities in the mid-1980s, which are used to produce his own television programs and house the offices of

, the Cathedral Buffet restaurant as well as other leased office space. In 1999 and in 2017, the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploym ...

filed suit against the Cathedral Buffet, both of which were filed due to the restaurant not properly paying their employees. In the 2017 lawsuit, it was argued by Angley that the employees were actually "volunteers", and that they had prices that were so cheap that they could not stay in business unless they didn't pay them. The court found him guilty in both instances and fined him $37,000 and $388,000 respectively in damages and wages. Since the 2017 lawsuit, the Cathedral Buffet has been closed. In April 2018, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision finding there was no violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) The appeals court found the volunteers had no expectation of compensation.

References

{{coord, 41.14686, -81.50974, display=title Evangelical churches in Ohio Churches in Summit County, Ohio Churches completed in 1958 Former megachurches Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Former Pentecostal churches