Second Coming: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Getting $25 Million Makeover

Major work on the 118-year-old church in downtown Sacramento includes restoring the original dome to its former scale, new oak flooring, seismic strengthening and upgrades to the sprinkler and fire alarm systems. The project is scheduled to be completed in October 2005.

By Judith Stock

	The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was built in 1886 (inset), and inspired by the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris. The original price tag for the Italian Baroque structure topped $250,000; to renovate the church today will cost $25 million. Photo courtesy of Vanir Construction Management.

The major restoration project at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on 11th Street in downtown Sacramento is turning up some unique discoveries.

Built in 1886, and inspired by the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, the structure is the largest remaining historic Catholic cathedral on the West Coast. The original price tag for the Italian Baroque structure topped $250,000; to renovate the church today will cost $25 million.

The church infrastructure is giant redwood beams and cast-iron pillars with walls of un-reinforced red brick covered in plaster. The main beam of the cruciform structure runs 204 ft. with a cross beam of 116 ft. The central tower reaches to a height of 216 ft., crowned with an orb and gold cross, and the two side towers rise 120 ft.

The restoration began in the spring, and the 45,000-sq.-ft. project should be completed in October 2005.

"The direction from the bishop is to restore it, rehab it and make it good for the next 100 years," said Harry Hallenbeck, owner's representative and supervising architect of Vanir Construction Management, Sacramento. "We are putting back the historic fabric of the building so that people will feel it was always meant to be that way."

A major element of the project is "the interior dome, which was covered over in 1933 with a false dome," Hallenbeck said. "We're restoring the original dome to its former scale," he added.

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The ceiling is 60-ft. high, and the dome when opened will rise up another 50 ft. to reach 110 ft.

Hallenbeck said no documentation has been found on why the original dome was sealed. He said water may have leaked through, causing plaster to fall, or it may have been sealed up for acoustical reasons.

"The 1930s dome will be removed and the historic dome restored," said James W. Shepherd, associate partner and project architect at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners of New York. "The structure of the 1880s dome is all still in place, but the finishes were removed," he added. "We've designed new dome finishes from historic drawings and written descriptions of the dome from the 1880s' newspapers."

Hallenbeck said that even though workers must deal with the historic character of the building with no available documentation, "part of the fun is in the discovery."

	The seismic reinforcing of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament required shoring up the dome with large beams so the supporting columns could be reinforced. Photo courtesy of Vanir Construction Management.

He said Vanir measured, studied the original plans, and did virtually everything possible to discover how the building works. "We haven't had anything that caused a costly surprise, but we have been awed by what we found and wondered how the structure lasted so long," he added.

Cynthia Adamson, vice president/project development at Harbison-Mahony-Higgins Builders Inc. in Sacramento, said the seismic reinforcing of the building required shoring up the dome with large beams so the supporting columns could be reinforced.

"The beams extend from the basement to a height of 50 ft. and are a sight to see when one ponders what it took to maneuver them into place within feet of historic, 100-year-old stained glass," she said.

Roberto Marquez, HMH's superintendent, described the operation as similar to propping the building up on crutches.

Successfully integrating a seismic design for a 118-year-old building without jeopardizing the historic appearance was no easy task. "Given the age of the structure and the use of load-bearing masonry and timber construction, there weren't a significant number of options on how to mesh new structure into old," Shepherd said.

Shepherd added that the job includes restoring the exterior envelope, which will require replacement of the existing failing copper roofing; repairing and replacing historic stucco; patching and/or replacing existing windows; and providing new below-grade waterproofing and a perimeter drainage system.

The project also included upgrades to address seismic and structural deficiencies; new design solutions to improve the liturgical functions on the main level; upgrades to meet the ADA code; sprinkler and fire alarm system; and redesign of lower and main level to meet local building codes.

	The original interior, decorated with colorful frescoes, represents a collection of sacred motifs painted over the life of the cathedral. Photo courtesy of Vanir Construction Management.

The lower level needed to be expanded for education classes and a large multipurpose room to be used for weddings and gatherings.

The original interior, decorated with colorful frescoes, represents a collection of sacred motifs painted over the life of the cathedral.

"In the 1980s the interior was yet again repainted with a new decorative scheme," Shepherd said. The cathedral received new stained glass and a new copper roof at the same time.

Materials used in the restoration include marble on the main aisle and altar platform as accents within the limestone flooring. The new altar and tabernacle will also be made of marble, and the new baptismal font will feature decorative marble mosaic.

Slate will be used for flooring at the narthex, a vestibule leading to the nave of the church, as well as the grand foyer on the lower level. As part of the plan, new granite will decorate the redesigned main entrance stairs and the new handicapped ramp. The rest of the cathedral will get new oak flooring.

"Beyer Blinder Belle and Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design of New York designed a new lighting scheme that highlights the new liturgical elements including the baptismal font, altar, tabernacle, bishop's chair and reservation chapel," Shepherd said.

Similarly, the entire exterior lighting scheme will highlight the cathedral against the night skyline of Sacramento.

The architect worked with Shen Milsom & Wilke/Paoletti in San Francisco to develop a new sound system to make certain the spoken word would be heard clearly from any location within the main level.

Other technologies include the use of a product designed to minimize the effect of lead-based paint during demolition.

"This is the first time HMH has used Pretox 2000, a spray-applied encapsulate that allows the painted plaster and brick to be removed from the columns in a more safe and controlled manner," said Harbison-Mahony-Higgins' Adamson.

To keep down costs, Hallenbeck said, "We are working hourly with the contractor and the architect." At the same time, he said the project deserves a gentle hand because of its historic nature and costs should be balanced with time concerns.