page_title: St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica (Toronto)
section_title: Architectural style
hierarchical_section_title: St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica (Toronto) / Architectural style
caption_attribution_description: St. Michael's Cathedral at sunset. Toronto, Canada.
context_page_description: St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, and one of the oldest churches in Toronto. It is located at 65 Bond Street in Toronto's Garden District. St. Michael's was designed by William Thomas, designer of eight other churches in the city, and was primarily financed by Irish immigrants who resided in the area. The cathedral has a capacity of 1600.
  St. Michael's Cathedral is a major building of faith in downtown Toronto. It was originally constructed away from the city's centre, but over time the city has grown to encompass it. It was constructed to better serve the growing Roman Catholic population of Toronto. It is a prime example of the English Gothic Revival style of architecture. On September 29, 2016, the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, the cathedral was elevated to a minor basilica.
context_section_description: St. Michael's Cathedral is built in the Gothic revival style. Since it was originally constructed by William Thomas from 1845 to 1848, the building has undergone two major renovations; the completion of the tower and spire was done by firm Gundry & Langley from 1865 to 1867, and the addition of dormers was done by Joseph Connolly in 1890. The interior of the church, divided into a large nave and two tall aisles, is lavishly decorated. The tall arcade, supported by graceful colonnettes, gives the interior space a feeling of openness and adds to the grand sense of scale that the building imposes.
  St. Michael's Cathedral is located to the northwest of Church and Shuter streets in Toronto, with the parish office at 200 Church Street. The building is oriented on an off-east–west axis aligned perpendicular to Church Street, with the main entrance on its west side located at 65 Bond Street. In adherence with the tradition of medieval churches, the cathedral's high altar is in the east end of the building, facing Jerusalem. The general composition of the building resembles that of a 13th or 14th century Gothic cathedral; however, the design is simplified and does not contain elements such as flying buttresses, transepts, or ribbed vaults. Also, because there are no transepts, the cathedral itself does not assume the typical cruciform shape of most medieval Gothic cathedrals. Conversely, the secondary altars, or side-chapels, divide the cathedral in two down its length, providing a slight outcrop visible from the exterior. The building can be further subdivided down its length by the nine bays framed by the buttresses on the exterior of the building.
  The cathedral's tower supports a large iron spire located over its west entrance. At its tallest point, the tower reaches 260 feet (79 m) or approximately 26 stories above the ground, surpassing the height of many of the surrounding buildings. The scale of the cathedral is quite large within the context of its immediate surroundings; however, when examined in context with the surrounding office towers, the size of the cathedral shrinks considerably. From the exterior, the building maintains a distinctly Gothic appearance characterized by its pointed arches, buttressed walls, stone moulding and sharp iron accents. The building is set-back considerably from the street and features a tall iron fence around its perimeter, which further contributes to the building's sharp appearance. The fence allows the building to maintain a semi-private front yard, featuring a stone-paved roundabout on its west side and a garden along its south side. Access from the east side of the building is limited due to the connection with the cathedral's rectory.
caption: St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica located off of Shuter and Church Street.
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