Construction of the enormous Gothic-style granite St. Columba Church on West Wood Street in Youngstown began in 1893 but was soon halted because of a national economic depression that hit hard in the quickly growing city. When the basement of this church was completed in 1895, a temporary roof installed over it created an auditorium that seated 2,000 people. In 1903, Cleveland Bishop Ignatius Frederick Horstmann dedicated the newly completed church building, to the excitement of an enormous crowd and the enthusiasm of a local journalist who declared that it compared favorably with St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City. At the same time, parish pastor Father Edward Mears proclaimed that the church was “worthy to be a cathedral, which some day it will be.” Forty years later, he was proven right when the Diocese of Youngstown was created with St. Columba Church chosen as the cathedral, as seen in this 1943 photo. The Gothic edifice was lost to a catastrophic fire in 1954. The rectory next to it was destroyed in the aftermath of the fire. St. Columba Parish, founded in 1847, was also served for years by the 1867 brick church in the far right of this photo. The first Mass in the present cathedral was offered in November 1958, and the dedication was held in April 1959.
