St. Mark's Pro-Cathedral is an Episcopal Church building located in

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Neb ...

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. It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 1987. In 2020, it reported 247 members, average attendance of 64, and $120,307 in plate and pledge financial support.

History

When the Rev. John W. Greenwood arrived in Hastings in 1880 to organize the parish, St. Mark's was an unorganized mission with no property or building, and with very few members. He held the first service on April 25, 1880 in a public hall (possibly a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

). The parish was organized and given its name on May 3, 1880 at a meeting in Charles Cameron's store at the corner of Hastings Avenue and First Street. Bishop Robert Harper Clarkson of the Diocese of Nebraska pledged $400 to build a church building. A wooden structure was built at a cost of $1,200. It was dedicated by Bishop Clarkson on January 23, 1881. The Daughters of Saint Mark's suggested that a new church be built in memory of the rector’s late wife Jessie Hornbrook Young. In 1912, they raised $10,000 after Bishop George Beecher suggested that Hastings be made a

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Televisio ...

and the new church become the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. St. Mark's was designated as a

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

in 1918 and served as the cathedral for the Missionary District of Western Nebraska until it merged with the Diocese of Nebraska in 1946. As part of the merger, it was agreed that St. Mark's would retain its designation as a pro-cathedral as a way of symbolizing the history and missionary tradition of the western part of the diocese. Noted

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

architect

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partn ...

was chosen to design the new church. The

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid by Bishop Beecher on December 5, 1922. The crypt and part of the walls were completed and a chapel was made in the crypt when money to complete the structure ran out. The parishioners were reluctant to go into debt for the building project. As additional funds became available, the structure was completed in 1929, but without its original central tower. The Edward R. Green Company completed the construction; the total spent to build the church amounted to $125,000. The education wing, which was part of Cram's plan for the cathedral complex, was completed in 1959. The square-shaped tower at the crossing was not completed until 2001.

Architecture

The church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. In its National Register nomination, the cathedral design is described as typical of the

Late Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, which is more subdued than the earlier

High Victorian Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Prom ...

style. The rock face of the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

structure contributes to an overall impression of monochromaticity. The plan of the building has characteristics of English Gothic churches, including an emphasis on length, a moderately pitched roof, and a tower at the crossing. Two octagon shaped towers flank the main

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

. The main entry projects from the front of the building. Its double doors are flanked by

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es and topped by a parapet gable. A triple

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

is above the entrance in the upper section of the building. In its interior, the cathedral has a rectangular

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with arcades on both sides. The roof structure, described in the National Register nomination as "an elaborate beam system of king post

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

es", is exposed in the ceiling. Walls are plastered and

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

is included in all of the windows. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, lectern and seating for the choir are located at the crossing. A

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

and the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

have been placed in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

References

External links

St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's Pro-Cathedral (Hastings, Nebraska) Mark's Pro-Cathedral, St., Hastings Episcopal church buildings in Nebraska Gothic Revival church buildings in Nebraska Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Churches completed in 1929 Religious organizations established in 1880 1880 establishments in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Hastings, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Adams County, Nebraska