View the Photos of the Fire

On November 26, 1975, the night before Thanksgiving, the Cathedral was nearly completely destroyed by an arson fire. The fire started in the altar area and swiftly engulfed the entire sanctuary, nave and St. Mary’s Chapel. Spotted by a passerby, the Topeka Fire Department responded with great force and effort but the raging inferno was out of control.

Destroyed were all wood structures—the beautiful hand-carved fittings became kindling; stained glass windows, chalices and crosses melted from the heat; tapestries and linens evaporated. The roof caved in and the limestone walls fractured. When it was over, all that was left was a charred shell of the once magnificent structure.

Under the leadership of Dean Leslie Skerry Olson, the parish rallied. Reconstruction plans and efforts began immediately, and many successful fundraising events were held (including the celebrity appearances of Bob Hope and Edith Head).

More than a hundred parishioners gathered in the shell of the Cathedral for church on Christmas Eve, 1975. Throughout the reconstruction, the Great Hall was used for parish services and the walnut altar that had served the first Grace Church of 1865 and had been saved from the fire was the altar (this altar is currently in use in All Saints Chapel).

The congregation returned to the Cathedral on “Restoration Sunday,” October 1, 1978. The procession that day included Cathedral clergy, acolytes and choirs, Bishop Edward Turner, firefighters, and the many workmen who had been involved in the construction — more than 100 people in all.