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Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	307 Congress St Portland, Maine
Coordinates	43°39′41″N 70°15′17″W / 43.66139°N 70.25472°W / 43.66139; -70.25472
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1866
Architect	P.C. Keeley
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	85001257
Added to NRHP	June 20, 1985

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a historic cathedral on Cumberland Avenue in Portland, Maine, which serves as seat of the Diocese of Portland. The rector is Father Seamus Griesbach. The church, an imposing Gothic Revival structure built in 1866–69, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Until 2023, it was the tallest building in Portland. It was surpassed by 201 Federal Street.

Architecture and history

The Roman Catholic diocese complex occupies most of a city block, bounded by Cumberland Avenue, Locust Street, Congress Street, and Franklin Street. The main church building is set on the northwest side of the property, facing Cumberland Avenue, while the parish hall extends northeast from its rear, and the bishop's residence stands to its southeast, facing Congress Street. To the left (south) of the residence stands a two-story school. Formerly the church-affiliated Kavanagh K-8 School, since 2013 the building has housed Portland Adult Education, the largest adult education institution in Maine.

The church is an imposing masonry structure, built of red brick, with sandstone trim and a slate roof. The main façade has a central entrance recessed in a sandstone Gothic arch, with a large stained glass rose window above. The main tower rises to the right of the main entrance, with buttressed corners, narrow Gothic windows, and an octagonal spire. Windows on the side walls are also Gothic, with buttressing between.

The interior of the cathedral is 186 by 70 feet (57 m × 21 m). The nave is 150 feet (46 m) long, rises 70 feet (21 m), and holds almost 1,000 worshipers. The tallest of the cathedral's three steeples is, at 204 feet (62 m)

Construction began in 1866 under the supervision of New York architect Patrick Keely. Construction of the church was interrupted by Portland's great 1866 fire, and it was not completed until September 8, 1869.The cathedral has undergone restorations in 1921, 1969, and 2000. In 1985, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The secondary buildings all have stylistically similar Gothic features.

• View up nave toward the sanctuary
• Organ by Henry Erben (1869)
• Chapel interior
• Guild Hall

See also

• List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
• List of cathedrals in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
• List of tallest buildings in Maine

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ "Our Cathedral - An Overview". The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
3. "There's a new tallest building in the city of Portland". newscentermaine.com. 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
4. ^ "NRHP nomination for Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-11-03.

External links

[REDACTED] Media related to Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Portland, Maine) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Cathedral Site
• Diocese of Portland Official Site

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
Bishops	Ordinaries David William Bacon James Augustine Healy William Henry O'Connell Louis Sebastian Walsh John Gregory Murray Joseph Edward McCarthy Daniel Joseph Feeney Peter Leo Gerety Edward Cornelius O'Leary Joseph John Gerry Richard Joseph Malone Robert Deeley James T. Ruggieri Auxiliary Amédée Wilfrid Proulx
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Basilica Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston Parish churches (list) Holy Cross Church, Lewiston Sacred Heart Church, Portland St. David Church, Madawaska St. Denis Church, North Whitefield St. Joseph's Church, Biddeford St. Mary's Church, Augusta St. Patrick's Church, Newcastle St. John's Church, Bangor Former churches St. Andre's, Biddeford St. Mary's Church, Biddeford St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church, Lisbon Falls St. Dominic's, Portland St. Joseph's Church, Lewiston St. Patrick's Church, Lewiston
Education	Higher education St. Joseph's College High schools Cheverus High School, Portland Saint Dominic Academy, Auburn Former schools St. Joseph's School, Biddeford Catherine McAuley High School, Portland
Priests	Denis Mary Bradley Charles M. Murphy
Miscellany	Mercy Hospital, Portland
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• Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
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• Gothic Revival church buildings in Maine
• Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866
• 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
• Churches in Portland, Maine
• Roman Catholic cathedrals in the United States
• 1866 establishments in Maine
• National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
• Roman Catholic churches in Maine
• Cathedrals in Maine