St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Catherdral

St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral is architecturally significant (Criterion C), on the state level, as representing the work of a master, being designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, of the architectural firm of Cram & Ferguson. Know as America's leading exponent of the Gothic Revival in its later Chase, Cram became a distinguished designer of Ecclesiastical architecture. The Cathedral is an outstanding example of the Late Gothic Revival style of architecture, a product of the English Gothic Church. Criteria consideration (exception) A is applicable to this property and is met through the building deriving primary significance from distinction. The period of significance is derived from the ye the architectural plans were drawn (1919) through the original construction date of the building (1929).

Criteria consideration (exception) Ais applicable to St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral and is met through the property deriving primary significance from architectural distinction (Criterion C). Architecturally significant on the state level, St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral represents the work of a master, being designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, of the architectural firm of Cram & Ferguson. The Cathedral is an outstanding example of the Late Gothic Revival style of architecture, more specifically a product of the English Gothic Church.

Ralph Adams Cram was born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire in 1863 and received his education and architectural training in New England. Around 1890 he opened an architectural office in Boston, forming a partnership with Charles Wentworth. Bertram G. Goodhue became the third partner and joined the firm in 1891, (Cram, Wentworth & Goodhue) and in 1899 Frank Ferguson entered the firm as a business partner (Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson). After Goodhue withdrew from the firm to set up his own practice, the firm became known as Cram & Ferguson. During his distinguished career, Cram was awarded numerous commissions, building over seventy cathedrals and churches among other important structures (Gebhard & Nevins, 1977, p. 156). Probably the most notable is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, which stands as a monument to his architectural genius. Cram was also prolific as a writer, authoring numerous books on varied topics, including religion, architecture, art history, and philosophy (Gebhard & Nevins, 1977, p. 156). In the latter years of his life, Cram became America's leading figure of the Gothic Revival style in its later phase (Withey, 1970, p. 145) (Gebhard & Nevins, 1977, p. 156). In American Architecture Since 1780, Whiffen discusses Cram's philosophy concerning Gothicism:

As he relates in his autobiography, Cram "evolved a theory" that Gothic architecture" had not suffered a natural death at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but had been most untimely cut off by the synchronizing of the Classical Renaissance and the Protestant Revolution." The thing to do, therefore, was "to take up English Gothic at the point where it was cut off during the reign of Henry VIII and go on from that point, developing the style England had made her own, and along what might be assumed to be logical lines, with due regard to the changing conditions of contemporary culture." So the Late Gothic Revival went back to the English Perpendicular style, which had been the main source of the Early Gothic Revival too, with the idea (which was not a part of the philosophy of the early revival) that the architect should develop it into something new...".

In 1919, under the leadership of The Very Reverend Charles Tyner, the plans for St. Mark's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral were drawn by Ralph Adams Cram (Centennial Yearbook, 1980, p. 10). For his design of St. Mark's, Cram incorporated elements of the English Gothic church, which emphasizes length, stone construction, stepped rectangular-shaped apses, moderately pitched roofs, and a tower over the crossing (Panek, 1976, p. 34-1). St. Mark's also incorporates in its design lancet windows, which are typical of English Gothic architecture. In Nebraska, St. Mark's Cathedral stands as an excellent example of the English Church as designed by Cram during this later phase of the Gothic Revival style.

In Nebraska, only one other ecclesiastical property has been identified in the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey as being designed by the architectural firm of Cram & Ferguson. First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln (listed NRHP, Mount Emerald and Capitol Additions, 6-5-80) was erected in 1926-27 in the Late Gothic Revival style and is of brick construction. Both St. Mark's and First Presbyterian Church possess features characteristic of Cram's work: the engaged towers and the shortened twin belfries, as found on Church of the Covenant in Cleveland and on East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. A deviation from usual Cram practice is the use of triple lancets, instead of English Perpendicular windows, as found on the front facades of both St. Mark's and First Presbyterian (Chatfield & Kidd, 1980, p. 8-6). In comparison, St. Mark's may be considered more archeologically correct in terms of English Gothic architecture due to its stone (as opposed to brick) Construction and the tower crossing.

Regarding Ecclesiastical architecture, St. Mark's design is that of the "Cathedral" plan incorporating the aisle wall and clerestory not otherwise found in "church" designs. Cathedrals, as property types, become a significant representation of religious architecture in Nebraska for their association with and in reference to the historic context "Religion: Episcopal Churches" as outlined in Historic and Prehistoric Contexts in Nebraska: Topical Listing (1986). St. Marks was designated the pro-cathedral in 1918 by the Rt. Rev. George A. Beacher (Bishop of western Nebraska, 1910-43) served as the cathedral of the former missionary district (diocese of western Nebraska). In 1946, when the western district merged with the diocese of Nebraska (the eastern half of the state), St. Marks remained a cathedral, with the understanding that it would symbolize the Episcopalian heritage of western Nebraska (Centennial History, 1980, p. 3). Today, there are only two cathedrals in the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska: St. Marks and Trinity Cathedral in Omaha (listed NRHP) (Centennial History, 1980, p. 3).