December 8, 1850

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Mobile after nearly 15 years of construction. Built in the Roman style, the impressive structure included a brick foundation with 10-foot-thick walls and two rows of Doric columns separating the interior into three naves, each with barrel-vaulted ceilings. In 1962, the cathedral was designated by Pope John XXIII as a Minor Basilica – an award given to churches because of their historical, cultural or artistic significance as a place of worship – and, in 1971, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Church Street East Historic District.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

An east view of Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, 2016. (DXR, Wikipedia)

Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, c. 1900-1915. (Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Historic American Buildings Survey photograph of the west end of the nave from the organ balcony showing the sanctuary and apse, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, 1936. (Photograph by E.W. Russell, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Stained glass window, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, 2010. (The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.