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Cathedral of Saint Mary in Austin

Saint Mary Cathedral
Saint Marys Cathedral Austin Texas.jpg
Cathedral of Saint Mary (Austin, Texas) is located in Texas
Cathedral of Saint Mary (Austin, Texas)
30°16′16″N 97°44′24″W / 30.27111°N 97.74000°W / 30.27111; -97.74000Coordinates: 30°16′16″N 97°44′24″W / 30.27111°N 97.74000°W / 30.27111; -97.74000
Location 203 East 10th Street
Austin, Texas
Country United States
Denomination Roman Catholic Church
Website www.smcaustin.org
History
Consecrated 20 April 1884
Architecture
Status Cathedral
Functional status Active
Architect(s) Nicholas J. Clayton
Style Gothic revival
Groundbreaking 1872
Completed 1884
Specifications
Materials Limestone
Administration
Diocese Austin
Province Galveston-Houston (Region X)
Clergy
Bishop(s) Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez
Rector Rev. Albert Laforet
St. Mary's Cathedral
NRHP Reference # 73001981
RTHL # 14676
Significant dates
Added to NRHP 2 April 1973
Designated RTHL 1977

Saint Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral parish of the Catholic Diocese of Austin located in Austin, Texas, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, as St. Mary's Cathedral.

The origins of this church date back to the 1850s when the Catholic community in Austin (then the new state's temporary capital with a population of around 600) built a small stone church named St. Patrick on the corner of 9th and Brazos Streets. In 1866, the church was renamed Saint Mary, and the parish decided they needed a new church and could afford masonry construction. In 1872, after Austin was made the permanent capital of the state, the parish laid the cornerstone for a new church choosing a location one block north of the original building.

The parish had laid out a basilica-shaped foundation and begun raising the walls, which were 5 feet (1.5 m) high when the architect Nicholas J. Clayton began to design their new church. Eventually to become the foremost Victorian architect in Texas, Clayton had never designed a church, and Saint Mary's was his first independent commission. Born in Ireland in 1840, Clayton learned masonry and building design in Cincinnati, and came to Galveston in 1872 on behalf of his Ohio firm. At the time, Austin was part of the Archdiocese of Galveston, and it may have been through the Holy Cross fathers that the bishop connected Nicholas Clayton with the first Catholic parish in Austin. This church began Clayton's long, prolific career centered in Galveston, building primarily ecclesiastical structures but also commercial buildings and homes.


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