Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was constructed through the efforts of the Right Reverend Henry Niles Pierce, who came to Little Rock in 1870 as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The church was designed by the bishop’s son, the Reverend A. Wallace Pierce, who had studied architecture and clearly was familiar with the Gothic Revival style favored for Anglican churches. Trinity has a Latincross plan, and a substantial square tower abuts the corner of the gabled facade. The cathedral was built in stages as funds allowed. The nave and baptistery were completed in 1884 and were in use while the rest of the cathedral was under construction. The transepts and crossing were finished in 1889, and the chancel in 1892. On the interior a wooden pointed-arched arcade on piers separates the nave from the aisles, wooden ribbed vaults cover the nave and aisles, and paired side windows and small dormered windows set in the steeply pitched roof illuminate the interior. Twentieth-century additions to the cathedral include stained glass in the windows, offices, and educational and recreational facilities. Also part of the cathedral complex is a carriage house dating from 1887 that belonged to a large residence that was demolished in 1950.