Christ Cathedral (Salina, Kansas)
Christ Cathedral | |
Gothic Revival | |
NRHP reference No. | 10000429[1] |
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Added to NRHP | July 6, 2010 |
Christ Cathedral is the cathedral church for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas. It is located in Salina, Kansas, United States, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2010.
History
Episcopalians initially met in Salina in the general store as well as in church buildings of other Christian denominations. Christ Church was formed as the first Episcopal parish in the city and a frame church building was constructed in 1872.[2] The Right Rev. Sheldon M. Griswold, the first bishop of the Missionary District of Salina, was the first to plan for a new cathedral.
Sarah E. Batterson of New York, the widow of the Rev. Herman Batterson, was looking for a way to memorialize her husband and donated a large sum of money to build the present cathedral. The gift came with stipulations. Philadelphia architect Charles Marquendent Burns, Jr., a personal friend of her husband, was to design the building. She wanted chairs in the nave instead of pews, and insisted they be free and unsigned to parishioners. Bishop Griswold initially asked for $10,000 to $15,000. Mrs. Batterson initially offered $25,000, and then raised the amount to $35,000. In the end her gifts totaled over $50,000.[3] The cornerstone was laid on May 29, 1906, and the first service in the cathedral was held on January 8, 1908.[2] Cuthbert and Sons of Topeka, Kansas, built the structure.[4] Also on the cathedral property is a parish hall built in 1948 and a two-story education and office building completed in 1956.
Architecture
The cathedral is cruciform in shape and faces the east. A
The exterior of the cathedral is covered entirely of limestone quarried in Chase County, Kansas, about 95 miles to the southeast of Salina.[3] The stone that was used for the entrance steps and the door sills was quarried in Lyon County, Kansas. The dressed stone used on the cathedral was quarried in Silverdale, Kansas.
The interior walls are covered in limestone. The seating capacity is 220 and the original chairs, made by the Manitowoc Seating Works of Chicago, are still in use.[3] They are black-stained oak with cane seats and kneelers. The floor tiles in the chancel and choir feature symbols from early Christianity and were made by the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The canopies over the bishop's cathedra, dean's stall and canon stalls are hand carved, quarter-sawn oak that are stained black. The diocesan coat of arms is cut into the back of the bishop's chair. The choir stalls are simpler in design. The pulpit and lectern in the crossing are also carved of oak.
Also at the crossing at the entrance to the choir is a
The original pipe organ in the choir was built by Henry Pilcher's Sons, of Louisville, Kentucky. It was replaced in 1977 by the present organ, which was designed by Canon Royce Young and built by the M. P. Moller Pipe Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland.
The
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b "History of Christ Episcopal Cathedral". Christ Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ a b c d "National Registers of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ "National and State Registers of Historic Places: Saline". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-07-06.