Look for a big red-brown stone building with a tall chimney, pointed roofs, and arched windows right in front of you on a gentle green slope-that’s Calvary Cathedral!
Now, take a deep breath and imagine you’re standing here in the 1870s, when Sioux Falls was just a sleepy little frontier town. The very first church building in the whole city was built right where you’re standing-or, well, close by, because that original little church got moved (imagine the clatter and rumble as the building rolled down the street on wooden beams! ).
In those early days, the Reverend W.H. Ross led services, and the church buzzed with the excitement of a new prairie community coming together. Fast forward a few years, and along comes John Jacob Astor III-a man with enough money to fill every pew twice over-and a heavy heart after losing his wife, Charlotte Augusta. Seeking to honor her memory, Astor sends generous gifts, and suddenly Sioux Falls is about to get a cathedral unlike anything the Dakotas had seen.
On a chilly December day in 1888, the cornerstone was laid. The whole project cost $21,000-a jaw-dropping sum back then, enough to make even the bravest banker shake! The new cathedral opened in 1889 and was named after Astor’s wife, St. Augusta’s Church. But don’t blink, or you’ll miss the name changes-soon it’s St. Augusta’s Cathedral, then back to Calvary Cathedral, as if the building just couldn’t make up its mind.
Today, as you stand in front of these solid stone walls, you’re looking at the seat of the Diocese of South Dakota-a place that’s weathered name changes, cross-country building moves, and more stories than you can fit into a Sunday sermon. If those old stones could talk, they’d probably whisper, “Stick around. You never know what we’ll be called next!”
