Washington National Cathedral history

1907 Workmen laid the foundation stone on Washington’s longest-running construction project on September 29 as President Theodore Roosevelt and the Bishop of London spoke to a crowd of 10,000.

1912 Bethlehem Chapel opens for services.

1918 President Woodrow Wilson attends official thanksgiving service for the end of the First World War.

1928 President Calvin Coolidge opens the General Convention of the Episcopal Church at the Cathedral.

1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt attends a National Prayer Service for his second inauguration.

1964 The Cathedral’s 300-foot Gloria in Excelsis central tower is dedicated.

1982 The Pilgrim Observation Gallery was completed and opened to the public.

1985 The Cathedral hosted the national prayer service for President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration.

1989 The Cathedral hosted the national prayer service for President George H.W. Bush’s inauguration.

1990 The completion of the west towers marked the end of 83 years of construction, as President George H.W. Bush wishes “God speed the work completed this noon and the new work yet to begin.”

2004 The Cathedral hosted the state funeral of President Ronald Reagan.

2007 The Cathedral hosted the state funeral of President Gerald Ford.

2009 The Cathedral hosted the national prayer service for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

2011 A rare 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the east coast and caused an estimated $32 million in damage to the Cathedral.

2013 The Cathedral hosted a national prayer service for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

2017 The Cathedral hosted a national prayer service for President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

2018 The ashes of Matthew Shepard were interred in the Cathedral crypt, 20 years after his murder in an anti-gay hate crime that electrified the gay rights movement.