Stories from the First Cathedral 9

When I became Dean of the Cathedral in 2001, I was told I could have my office in the Guild House. I loved that idea because the Guild House seemed like a large comfortable home. The undercroft of this building had been the home of the Horstman Memorial Nursery School, which had been in business since 1965. The school was closed down before I was hired as the Dean. The main level housed my office, the secretary's office, the Great Hall, the stage of the Great Hall, the kitchen, and the dining room. The upper level was a Sunday School room and Archive room. The stage of the Great Hall has a beautiful stained glass window of the resurrection. The window was a backdrop behind the old wooden altar. The altar was originally in the Cathedral apse before the stone altar took its place.

The Guild house (all but the kitchen and dining room) stood by itself for about 10 years and was finished in 1894 at the cost of $10,000 dollars. Ground was broken for the Gilbert Hall addition in 1903. The hall was a special room for children and housed a much needed kitchen. I will describe the special features of Gilbert Hall in future stories.

Most people don't know that Bishop Whipple had an assistant. The Rt. Rev. Mahlon Norris Gilbert was Assistant Bishop from 1886 to 1900. He died in St Paul, a man loved by many and especially his family, who generated the money for the addition to the Guild House called Gilbert Hall.