All Saints Cathedral (Milwaukee)
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2018) |
All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral Complex | |
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Location | 804-828 E. Juneau Ave Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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Coordinates | 43°02′46″N 87°54′05″W / 43.0460°N 87.9013°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1868 and other years |
Architect | E. Townsend Mix (Church) William D. Kimball (Guild Hall) Kirchoff & Rose (Bishop's House) |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival (church) |
NRHP reference No. | 74000099[1] |
Added to NRHP | December 27, 1974 |

All Saints Cathedral is a historic Episcopal cathedral in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The cathedral as an ecclesiastical entity dates from 1867, when Jackson Kemper, the first bishop of Wisconsin, and his coadjutor William Armitage, were deeded the assets of a small mission church in downtown Milwaukee and renamed it "All Saints Pro-Cathedral."[2] The cathedral moved to its present campus on Juneau Avenue in 1868, buying a wooden building at one end of the block, then, in 1872, purchasing a church building at the other end when it came up for sale. All Saints was the "see," or seat, of the Bishop of Wisconsin until 1886; from then until 2023, it was the bishopric seat of the Diocese of Milwaukee.[3] With the merger of the Milwaukee diocese with those of Fond du Lac and Eau Claire, All Saints is again a historic cathedral parish within the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin.
The Gothic Revival church building was designed by Edward Townsend Mix, a noted Milwaukee architect, and constructed as Olivet Congregational Church in 1868.[4] The building was sold to the Episcopal diocese in 1871 when the Olivet congregation faced bankruptcy, and was consecrated as a cathedral in 1898.
Architectural Features
[edit]The church tower and steeple are approximately 200 feet tall. Since renovation in the 1950s, the steeple cross is mounted out-of-line with the facade, slightly angled towards Lake Michigan.
In the liturgical "east end" of the sanctuary, elevated on a triple-step dais of white marble, stands the high altar and triptych presented as a memorial gift to the cathedral in 1922 during the tenure of Dean Charles S. Hutchinson. The Sienna marble altar and triptych was designed and built by Eugene W. Mason, Jr. of New York City, and is of Italian Gothic styling. Embossed in the bronze door of the tabernacle is the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, signifying the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. The five figures on the predella (just below the center panel) are, from left,Thomas á Becket, Joan of Arc, the Virgin Mary, Francis of Assisi, and Demetrius of Alexandria.
Most of the stained glass windows in the cathedral were designed and produced in England, mainly by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake of London. A large rondel window of Christ the King was made by the London firm of Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
The cathedral complex, including the church, guild hall, and nearby bishop's manse, was designated a Milwaukee City Landmark in 1973 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1][5]
Bells
[edit]The Cathedral tower houses a swinging bronze bell that the Fulton Bell Foundry of Pittsburgh cast in 1867. The bell was installed when the Olivet Church was new. The "Tenor G" bell weighs 1,050 pounds, measures almost 40 inches in diameter at the mouth, and is usable today.
In the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, a set of five memorial bells was added to the Cathedral belfry. The bells were repurposed, having gracing St John's Episcopal Church on the south side for nearly 100 years. Made in the 1860s by the Meneely Bell Foundry in West Troy, NY, the bells were set aside and stored in a barn in Dousman, Wisconsin, after St John's parish closed. Lee Manufacturing Company, a firm specializing in bell and clock towers, was engaged to hang "the Bells of Remembrance and Hope" in the Cathedral's tower. A dedication ceremony was held June 3, 2007. An automated system rings the stationery bells daily, tolling on the hour and quarter-hour from 9am to 9pm, remembering all victims of terror and expressing hope for peace.[6]
Today's church features a liturgy in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Wagner, Harold Ezra (1947). The Episcopal Church in Wisconsin, 1847-1947: A History of the Diocese of Milwaukee. The Diocese of Milwaukee.
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Milwaukee, Diocese of -- The Episcopal Church". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
- ^ "Olivet Congregational Church". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ Mary Ellen Wietczykowski (August 6, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral Complex". National Park Service. Retrieved March 29, 2018. With three photos from 1984.
- ^ Heinen, Tom (January 4, 2007). "Member's idea strikes a chord: Church bells create musical memorial for terror victims". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
[edit]- Episcopal cathedrals in Wisconsin
- 19th-century Episcopal church buildings
- Anglo-Catholic cathedrals
- Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the United States
- Churches completed in 1868
- Churches in Milwaukee
- Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
- Episcopal churches in Wisconsin
- Gothic Revival church buildings in Wisconsin
- National Register of Historic Places in Milwaukee