Cathedral of St. Helena

The Cathedral of St. Helena, at 530 North Ewing Street, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, and its two 230-foot spires dominate the city skyline. The Gothic Revival church was designed by the Washington, D.C. architect A. O. Von Herbulis and modelled on the Votivkirche in Vienna. The cornerstone was laid on 4 October 1908, the first Mass was said on 8 November 1914, and the cathedral was consecrated in June 1924. It cost $645,000.

The outside is limestone and carries 29 statues of saints and other figures. Inside, the stained-glass windows were made by the F. X. Zettler firm of Munich, and Charles J. Connick of Boston had installed the clerestory windows by 1926. The north tower holds fifteen hand-cast bells, one for each mystery of the Rosary. The site was paid for in 1905 by Thomas Cruse, the miner who struck it rich at the Drumlummon Mine; his funeral, on 26 December 1914, was the first held in the new cathedral.

The building has been seriously damaged once. The magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Helena in 1935, which also destroyed much of Reeder's Alley, almost completely destroyed the south tower, which was rebuilt and reinforced, with the work finished by 1938. The cathedral was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

It is a working parish church, not a museum, so visiting means fitting around services. Individuals and small groups can walk in whenever the doors are open and no liturgy is in progress. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, free guided tours run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 3 pm without a reservation; groups of ten or more can book a tour at other times through the parish office. Donations are welcome.

The cathedral is about half a mile from the Last Chance Gulch walking mall, uphill on the north side of downtown, and pairs well with a walk past the Victorian houses built with gold-rush money nearby. Mass times are posted on the parish website, so check them before you go to avoid arriving during a service. Dress as you would for any active church, keep voices down, and don't photograph during Mass.