Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Spokane, Washington) Informations

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Washington, is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane. Three Spokane parishes, All Saints Cathedral, St. Peter's, and St. James, merged on October 20, 1929 to form the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Construction began on the present cathedral four years previous in 1925 and was structurally completed in less than a generation under the supervision of founding architect Harold C. Whitehouse of the Spokane firm of Whitehouse and Price. It is located in the Rockwood neighborhood, south of downtown.

Built entirely of cut stone, the carvings, and the figures in stained glass, include symbols of many faiths. Especially notable are carvings by Ole Sunde of Seattle and by Arcangelo Cascieri and Adio diBaccari of Boston, Mass. The stained glass windows, in classic Gothic style, are the work of the Charles J. Connick firm, and since its closure of the work of Willet Hauser Architectural Glass.

The Cathedral Organ, with 4,039 pipes, designed, built and installed in 1957 by the Aeolian-Skinner Company (Opus 1343) to interpret the whole range of organ literature and renovated in 2000 by Marceau and Associates, is so skillfully voiced that even the smallest pipes can be heard in every corner of the building. Recitals are scheduled throughout the year.

Bishop Cross Tower, named to honor the Cathedral's founder, houses a 49-bell carillon, one of only a handful in the Northwest, cast and installed by the English firm of John Taylor and Sons. Carillon concerts are played at Sunday services, at times of religious and civic festivals, and other times as announced. The carillon is best heard from outside on the Cathedral Close (nearby grounds).

The first Dean of the Cathedral was Richard Coombs, who relocated to Spokane in 1956 from the Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Salinas, California.

The Cathedral is open Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm. Guided tours are often available on Fridays, 11am-2pm. On Sundays, guided tours usually are available immediately after the last morning worship service. The tour usually lasts around 45 minutes.

The elevation at street level is approximately 2,160 feet (660 m) above sea level.

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