Cathedral of Saint Paul, Catholic cathedral in Oakland, Pittsburgh, United States
The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, United States. Its stone exterior features tall pointed windows, flying buttresses, and a high spire, while the interior has a long nave, stained glass windows, and carved stone details.
The first parish church was built in 1833, and it became the cathedral for the diocese in 1843. After a fire destroyed the building in 1851 and a larger replacement was constructed in 1855, the current church was later built in Oakland and completed in 1906, designed by Egan and Prindeville.
The cathedral serves as the mother church for Catholics in the Pittsburgh area, so major ceremonies and community gatherings often take place here. The pipe organ is used in services and concerts, and visitors can hear its deep, full sound filling the large interior space.
Visitors can walk around the outside to see the stonework from different angles, since the building sits on a corner with open space around it. Inside, the main seating area is easy to enter from the front doors, and the floor is level for most of the nave.
The cathedral's original pipe organ from 1895 was a gift from Andrew Carnegie, a well-known Pittsburgh industrialist. The current organ, installed in the 1950s, uses four keyboards to control a very wide range of pipes and sounds, which makes it stand out among churches in the city.
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