Cathedral Building, Gothic Revival skyscraper in Downtown Oakland, United States.

The Cathedral Building is a Gothic Revival skyscraper located at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Broadway in downtown Oakland. It has distinctive terracotta spires, a triangular shape, and stepped layers that create a striking profile along the street.

Built in 1914, the Cathedral Building was the first Gothic Revival skyscraper west of the Mississippi River. It was designed by architect Benjamin Geer McDougall and originally named the Federal Realty Building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 2, 1979.

The north wall features a large mural by artist Zio Ziegler created in 2015 to honor the signing of the United Nations Charter. This public artwork has become a recognizable landmark that draws people to stop and notice it while walking through the neighborhood.

The building sits at a busy intersection in downtown Oakland and is easily accessible by public transportation. It can be viewed and photographed from street level without any special arrangements or access requirements.

The "Wedding Cake" nickname comes from its resemblance to New York's Flatiron Building, but the Cathedral Building predates it: it was completed in 1914, two years before the Flatiron's 1902 completion is often misremembered—actually the Flatiron was finished in 1902, so the Oakland building came later. The comparison is visual, not chronological: its triangular footprint at Latham Square, where Telegraph Avenue splits from Broadway, creates the same wedge shape.