Cathedral now complete with steeples, bells envisioned 107 years ago

Published: 2005-09-14

DALLAS (CNS) -- New bells pealed the national anthem and sacred music from the new 20-story bell tower of Dallas's renovated cathedral Sept. 11, signaling the completion of a 107-year-old architectural plan. Hundreds of Catholics attended the dedication ceremonies at the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe led by Dallas Bishop Charles V. Grahmann. New steeples, the tallest atop a bell tower containing a carillon of 49 bells made in the Netherlands, brought to life a vision first proposed by famed Texas church architect Nicholas Clayton 107 years ago. His grandson and great-grandson attended the dedication. Clayton designed many historic churches in Texas. The steeples and bells were in the original 1898 design but were cut out as a cost-saving measure during a national financial panic at the turn of the century that affected Dallas, too. The cathedral was left with stunted towers, barely rising above the roof line.

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