The Recovering Choir Director

Board says Sacred Heart Cathedral is a landmark

ROCHESTER — Calling Sacred Heart Cathedral a historic building, the city Preservation Board unanimously recommended Wednesday that the exterior and—in a rare move—the interior structure of the church be designated as city landmarks.

The recommendations, made separately, now move on to the Planning Commission for a final vote.

“This I consider round one,” said Mary Giorgi, who filed the petition seeking landmark status for the church.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester opposes the designation, viewing the effort as simply an attempt to scuttle plans to renovate the cathedral. Barbara Kelley, the co-chairwoman of the renovation committee, said the diocese will now study its options, which could include a legal challenge. [Read on]

At last summer’s NPM Region I Convention which I attended in Rochester, there was a pre-convention “worship space” tour. Included in the tour was a stop at the Cathedral, where there were CGI renderings of a proposed interior renovation. Although they are not available at the official Cathedral Project website, the renderings looked in my opinion mightily similar to this recent renovation.

What I want to know is where the Preservation Board was in 1937 when the Diocese sold St. Patrick’s Cathedral to Eastman Kodak. This cathedral was soon destroyed by Kodak to erect office space.