This is the third installment of a miniseries of caches dedicated to the Central District (CD), the first neighborhood I lived in in Seattle.
This cache is located near a church I would pass on my route to get groceries. I always thought the architecture was beautiful.
Mini history about the building (https://www.icseattle.org/our-history and https://www.historylink.org/File/3220):
The church's original grounds is now home to Seattle University (both Jesuit institutions). The present day building was erected in 1904 and the dedication ceremonies in December of the same year were led by Bishop Edward John O'Dea -- the namesake of the local boys Catholic high school a few blocks down on Terry Ave -- with a helping hand from Father Francis Prefontaine -- one of the pioneers of Seattle!
The Italianate structure is brick while the roof and twin towers are made of wood and capped by gold cupolas. From the floor, the highest point of the church dome reaches 150 feet, and it seats 950 people.
In 1974 It was designated as a historical landmark by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board.
A picture from 1908 courtesy of the UW archives (https://www.historylink.org/File/3220)
Extra lore: the church was damaged by a fire in December of 1982 which also killed a 23-year-old girl. Investigators believed the fire was set by a hand-held flame applied to some straw on a stage (probably for a Christmas pageant). As far as I looked and could tell, it was ultimately an accident (though originally a parishioner was accused of setting the fire and purposefully killing the young woman but he was ultimately arraigned and counter-sued SPD and the detective for harassment and unfair persecution).
Fire damage and general disrepair left the church in poor condition. By 1995, parishioners had raised nearly $1 million (over 2 million in 2025 dollars) for a new roof, exterior, and other restorations.
The church would sustain damage again in 2001 from the Nisqually Earthquake costing around $250,000, and in 2002 completed $1.2 million worth of repairs restoring the bell towers and electrical system.