Trinity Cathedral is located in
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
,
Nebraska. Nebraska's first
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
parish, Trinity was established in 1856, and became the state's first Episcopal
cathedral in 1872. Designed by noted English architect
Henry G. Harrison in 1880, the cathedral was consecrated on November 15, 1883. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Today Trinity Cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Omaha.
History
Trinity was begun organized by the Right Reverend David Jackson Kemper on July 13, 1856. The first church was built at South Ninth and Farnam Streets. The congregation lost control of the first church building in 1864; the second building was lost to fire in 1868. The third church was built the next year, and was used until the cathedral was constructed. The Right Reverend
Robert Harper Clarkson
Robert Harper Clarkson (November 19, 1826 – March 10, 1884) was an American prelate of the Episcopal Church, who served as the first Bishop of Nebraska between 1865 and 1884.
Biography
Clarkson was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was or ...
broke ground for the new cathedral, later laying the cornerstone on May 25, 1880. The cost of the cathedral was about $100,000 by the time it was completed three years later.
The church served as the base of many Episcopal missions to areas of the western United States. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.
Design
It is built in the late Late Gothic Revival style, with rock-faced masonry walls and stone tracery over more than 43
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
lancet windows. The church is almost entirely of
bluestone from
Illinois, in a design that is nearly
cruciform with an entry
tower extending outward. The exterior of the building has more than six stone crosses at varying points of its roof line. Its design was influenced by the
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
in the Episcopal church, which led to a revival of medieval styles, as well as an interest in historic design at the time in United States architecture.
The interior features Gothic design throughout, including
aisles,
nave,
transept, choir, and a
clerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
. The church includes a noted carved oak
bishop's
throne and
dean's stall.
[Gerber, K. and Spencer, J.S. (2003) p 57.]
See also
*
List of the Episcopal cathedrals of the United States
*
List of cathedrals in the United States
References
External links
Trinity Cathedralofficial website.
* at the
Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
Historic postcardsNebraska Memories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinity Cathedral (Omaha, Nebraska)
National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska
Episcopal cathedrals in the United States
History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska
Episcopal church buildings in Nebraska
Churches in Omaha, Nebraska
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska
Religious organizations established in 1856
Churches completed in 1883
19th-century Episcopal church buildings
1856 establishments in Nebraska Territory