Saint Joseph Cathedral, Sioux Falls

521, North Duluth Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, United States

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Saint Joseph Cathedral, Sioux Falls

521, North Duluth Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, United States

Firm

YEAR

2011

BUDGET

$5M - 10M

Placed on a bluff overlooking downtown Sioux Falls, the Cathedral of Saint Joseph is the most prominent piece of architecture and a symbol of the city.The Bishop’s request to the architect was to restore the Cathedral in a way that the original architect would recognize. Yet, Emmanuel Masqueray, designer of a World’s Fair and the stunning Saint Paul Cathedral in Minnesota, died before drawings were complete. This fact, along with other needs of our time led Stroik to the concept of a “creative restoration.”“Restoration” because it brought back the architecture and decoration to reflect the 1915 design. “Creative” because many elements were never completed or forseen in the building when dedicated in 1918. Most prominent among these was the wholesale resdesign of the liturgical sanctuary complete with cathedra, circular ambo and pedimented circular baldacchino. The complex marble floors and decorative painting were done as if Masqueray would have done them."This Cathedral of St. Joseph is not a museum though there is much to admire and ponder; this is not a concert hall though the beauty of sacred music will lift our souls; this is not a gathering space though it is a place where we can come together to share our joys and support one another in our sorrows. This is our Beacon of Hope where we with humble and grateful hearts can declare: ‘How awesome is this shrine. This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that it is the gateway to heaven. Truly the Lord is in this place.’"