St. John’s Cathedral
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Main entrance on N. 8th St. in 2009
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Location | 775 N. 8th St. Boise, Idaho, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 43°37′18″N 116°11′51″W / 43.62167°N 116.19750°WCoordinates: 43°37′18″N 116°11′51″W / 43.62167°N 116.19750°W |
Built | 1905-1921 |
Architect | Tourtellotte & Hummel |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
MPS | Tourtellotte and Hummel Architecture TR |
NRHP reference # | 78001035 |
Added to NRHP | May 24, 1978 |
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, also known simply as St. John’s Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Boise, Idaho, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Boise, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first Catholic church in Boise was dedicated on Christmas Eve 1870, but was destroyed in a fire 18 days later. Another frame structure was built that would serve as the cathedral of the Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho, established March 5, 1883, and the Diocese of Boise after it was established on August 25, 1893. It was located on the northwest corner of Ninth and Bannock Streets. As the city grew, a larger cathedral was needed and Bishop Alphonse Glorieux purchased property bounded by Fort, Hays, Eighth, and Ninth Streets. He laid the cornerstone for the present cathedral in 1906. So as not to be a financial drain on the parish, the church building was built in stages. After the lower level was completed the parish worshiped there. The walls and roof were completed in 1912, and the cathedral was completed in 1921 during the episcopate of Bishop Daniel Gorman, who dedicated it on March 27, Easter Sunday.
St. John’s Cathedral was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as a part of the Tourtellotte and Hummel Architecture Thematic Resource. The rest of the buildings on the block were added to the National Register in 1982 and are listed as St. John's Cathedral Block.
St. John’s Cathedral was designed by one of the first architectural firms to work in Boise, Tourtellotte and Hummel. Built in the Romanesque Revival style, it was modeled after the Cathedral of Mainz in western Germany. The exterior is Boise Sandstone, quarried just above the city at Table Rock. The building is cruciform in shape and measures 170 feet (52 m) from front to back, 95 feet (29 m) at the transepts and 65 feet (20 m) in the nave.