Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany
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| Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Albany, New York |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1848 |
| Architect: | Keeley,Patrick |
| Architectural style(s): | Other |
| Added to NRHP: | June 08, 1976 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 76001203 |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Eagle Street in Albany, New York. It is adjacent to the Empire State Plaza.
The cathedral, located on Madison Avenue at Eagle Street in Albany, was completed in 1852 and consecrated by the Most Reverend John Hughes, Archbishop of New York. The first bishop, John McCloskey, was coadjutor bishop of New York with succession rights. This is why he left upon Archbishop Hughes' death in 1865. The Cathedral has a stone exterior and appears to have a stone interior but does not — the inside is actually plaster and lath but was painted to look like stone. This was really a way to save time, as McCloskey wanted to get the Cathedral finished to prove that the Catholic Church in America was permanent. Originally, there was a flat wall at the back of the Cathedral, where the Lady window was. This window, which depicts scenes in the life of the Virgin Mary, was later moved to the north transept when the semicircular sanctuary was added.
The crypt underneath the cathedral has reportedly never been visited by the current bishop, Howard Hubbard, but it contains six of his predecessors. There is a door in the ceiling of the crypt so that the coffins may be lowered directly into it after the Solemn Requiem of the Bishop. This door, however, was not quite big enough for the ornate, modern coffin that contained Bishop Scully. As a result, they wound up having to take him out of the coffin, carry him down the stairs, take the coffin apart to feed it through the door, and then reassemble it and put him back in. The crypt cannot be detected from above because some of the floor tiles have to be removed to get coffins into it.
The Cathedral is currently undergoing a $30M restoration project. The exterior renovation is well underway, and the interior is starting this year. It started in 2000 and is expected to be finished, if they can keep up the funds, by 2009.
Tours are offered of the Cathedral. [1]
It was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1976.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ NEW YORK - Albany County. National Register of Historic Places.
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