© Dan Forer

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
The historic restoration and 40-Year recertification of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, the oldest church, built in 1896 in the original city limits of Miami, was completed in 2013. The $7M comprehensive restoration and preservation included structural reinforcing, stained glass restoration, new electrical, new lighting, remodeling of staff offices, hurricane protection and other vital improvements. In 1923 Miami architect Harold Hastings Mundy designed the church expansion large enough to seat 1,100 worshipers and construction was finished in 1925. The design was inspired by the Roman Catholic Church of St. Giles, near Nimes in southern France. Mundy combined Romanesque, Byzantine, and Italianate elements of architecture to give the building a distinctive Mediterranean appearance. The interior of the Cathedral contains a profusion of finely wrought mosaics which depict the Six Days of Creation, the Hosts of Heaven, and the Stations of the Cross. In addition, stained glass windows illustrate events in the life of Jesus, with corresponding scenes from the Old Testament, the Miracles of Jesus, the Song of the Three Young Men, the Seven Sacraments of the Church, and many of the saints and scholars of the British Isles before the Protestant Reformation. The Cathedral interior has a sound reverberation of more than four seconds, a feature which greatly enhances the musical effectiveness of the E. M. Skinner/Æolian Skinner pipe organ of fifty-six ranks. These acoustics make this space one of the “warmest” rooms for music.

Trinity Cathedral Restoration, Miami Florida (11:28)

  • 2014 AIA Miami, Merit Award of Excellence in Renovation/Restoration
  • 2014 Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Excellence in Construction Award
  • 2014 AIA Florida, Honor Award of Excellence for Historic Preservation
  • 2014 Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award, Outstanding Achievement
  • 2014 Dade Heritage Trust Preservation Award